What DEPART does

DEPART (株式会社デパート) is a Tokyo Aoyama-based web production and digital agency founded in June 2015, operating as a private, holding-company-style group that wholly owns three subsidiaries — YUIDEA (brand strategy, sustainability, design services), Planz, and KILALA COMMUNICATION. The firm employs 41 people as of October 1, 2025, and positions itself around a three-pillar delivery model: human-centered design (UX, usability, accessibility), functional implementation (data architecture, SEO, browser evaluation, operational cost reduction), and visual design planning (visual design, web motion design, UI design), each handled by specialist teams.

Its core products and services span website production, custom system development (CMS, web services, business systems), operation and maintenance support, owned media construction, web marketing support (advertising, CRM, MA tooling), and web accessibility support aligned with JIS X 8341-3:2016 and WCAG 2.2. A specialized Sustainability Site Construction service was launched in September 2025 to address ESG/sustainability site strategy and execution. Technology choices center on modern front-end stacks — React/Next.js, Vue.js/Nuxt, Astro, TypeScript — combined with headless CMS and Jamstack architecture (including a proprietary "Distributed Static CMS Package" for high-Lighthouse-score sites) and back-end work in PHP/Laravel and Node.js. Notable technical capabilities include Core Web Vitals optimization and upstream system development consulting for requirements definition and architecture planning.

The business model is professional services revenue: project-based engagements scoped per client, with public pricing undisclosed and custom quotes ranging from approximately ¥1M for a simple sustainability single-page site to several million yen for multi-content, multilingual, or interactive builds. Go-to-market is sales-led and domestic, with marketing executed through an extensive content library (categorized blog, downloadable guides and templates, accessibility diagnostic tools), co-marketed webinars with group/partner companies (YUIDEA, Willgate), SEO, design-award participation, and earned media in industry publications. Named enterprise clients span beverage (KIRIN Holdings), chemicals (Shoei Chemical), cosmetics (Isehan), fashion/retail (G-U), publishing (BookLive, Poplar, Live Viewing Japan), real estate (Azalea Home), education/careers (Vantan), IT services (NCD), and advertising/production (TVC, Hiraku) — illustrating a diversified Japanese enterprise customer base.

Name

DEPART

Legal name

株式会社デパート

Website

https://depart-inc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DEPART is a Tokyo Aoyama-based web production agency and group holding company (41 employees, founded 2015) that designs, builds, and operates corporate, brand, and sustainability websites for Japanese enterprises across industries including beverage, chemicals, cosmetics, publishing, and retail.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Web Design & Production Services: Corporate website design and development, brand/media/service site production, CMS-based site construction, and redesign projects. Revenue is project-based, billed per engagement.
2. System Development Services: CMS implementation, web service development, and business system development with UX design and accessibility considerations.
3. Web Marketing & Digital Strategy Services: Web marketing support, SEO strategy (including LLMO for AI era), CRM support, and MA tool utilization assistance.
4. Sustainability & Accessibility Support Services: Sustainability site construction and web accessibility support services, including diagnosis, consulting, and remediation.
5. Owned Media Support Services: Planning, content strategy, and construction of owned media sites for brand awareness and lead nurturing.
6. Operation & Maintenance Support: Ongoing website operation, maintenance, and operational efficiency improvement services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

DEPART is a Tokyo Aoyama-based web production company that designs and develops corporate websites, brand sites, and web systems for Japanese enterprises. The company provides end-to-end services spanning website design, system development, CMS implementation, operation/maintenance, owned media, web marketing, and accessibility compliance, with specialist teams covering UX, visual design, and front-end/back-end engineering.

Product overview

DEPART is a web production company offering a comprehensive suite of digital services centered on website design and development. Their core offerings include Website Production, System Development, Operation/Maintenance Support, Owned Media Support, Web Marketing Support, and Web Accessibility Support. The company specializes in combining UX design, UI design, and web motion design with robust technical implementation using HeadlessCMS and Jamstack architecture. They also offer specialized services for sustainability sites and accessibility compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Website Production (Webサイト制作) Comprehensive website design, redesign, and development service for corporate, brand, and media sites, covering planning, content production, and operational support for Japanese enterprises.
• System Development (システム開発) Custom web system development service including CMS implementation, web service development, and business system development with user-centered UI design and UX-based approaches.
• Operation/Maintenance Support (運用・保守支援) Post-launch operational support service offering operational efficiency improvement, workload reduction, and effectiveness maximization through operational design proposals and practical support for Japanese enterprise clients.
• Owned Media Support (オウンドメディア支援) Comprehensive owned media site development including purpose setting, goal design, trend-aligned valuable content formulation, and post-release improvement measures for brand awareness and lead nurturing.
• Web Marketing Support (Webマーケティング支援) Marketing support service including advertising and social media utilization, CRM activities, and Marketing Automation (MA) tool implementation assistance for Japanese enterprise clients.
• Web Accessibility Support (ウェブアクセシビリティ支援) Web accessibility services including simple diagnosis, support for JIS X 8341-3:2016 and WCAG compliance, and guidance for legal requirements to help Japanese enterprises meet accessibility obligations.
• Sustainability Site Construction Service (サステナビリティサイト構築・制作支援サービス) Specialized service for building and renovating sustainability sites, including strategy formulation, content planning, and execution support for ESG/sustainability communication, targeting Japanese enterprises with ESG disclosure and branding needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• High Lighthouse scores on Jamstack/Headless CMS projects
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 株式会社YUIDEAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYUIDEA is a group company and sustainability branding strategy partner. DEPART co-hosts seminars with YUIDEA (e.g., AI-era brand strategy seminar, April 2026) combining YUIDEA's sustainability engagement expertise with DEPART's experience design and creative expression capabilities.
• 株式会社ウィルゲートcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWillgate is a digital marketing and SEO/AI optimization partner. DEPART co-hosted the April 2026 'AI-era Brand Survival Strategy' seminar with Willgate, combining DEPART's experience design with Willgate's LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization) and SEO strategy expertise.
• 株式会社プランズcoreOthersPlanz is a group company of DEPART, part of its corporate group structure alongside YUIDEA and KILALA COMMUNICATION.
• KILALA COMMUNICATION CO.,LTD.coreOthersKILALA COMMUNICATION is a group company of DEPART, part of its corporate group structure alongside YUIDEA and Planz.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IREP Co., Ltd. (アイレップ): IREP is a Tokyo-based digital agency focused on SEO, web marketing, and web production for Japanese enterprises. Like DEPART, it sells project-based digital production to enterprise brand/marketing buyers, with overlapping target customers and similar solution mix (strategy + production).
• BUILDBASE Co., Ltd. BUILDBASE is a Tokyo-based web production company specializing in corporate website design and CMS implementation. It competes head-to-head with DEPART on Japanese enterprise website redesign and CMS rebuild mandates using comparable delivery models.
• PENCIL Inc. (ペンシル): PENCIL is a Tokyo-based web production agency focused on advertising-driven website design and landing page optimization for Japanese enterprises. Similar boutique scale, similar enterprise client profile, and directly comparable production service lines to DEPART.
• Cinc Inc. (シンク): Cinc is a Tokyo-based digital content marketing agency specializing in inbound marketing, content strategy, and website production for B2B enterprises. Overlaps directly with DEPART on owned media support and content-led website production.

Broad incumbents

• Septeni Holdings Co., Ltd. Septeni is a Tokyo-based digital marketing holding company providing digital advertising, marketing automation, and web production services to Japanese enterprises. Its portfolio overlaps with DEPART on digital marketing support and owned media, but at materially larger scale.
• CyberAgent, Inc. CyberAgent is a major Japanese internet / digital advertising company offering digital marketing, internet advertising, and creative production services including web production. It competes with DEPART for Japanese enterprise digital marketing and website work as part of a broader internet ecosystem portfolio.
• transcosmos inc. transcosmos is a major Japanese digital services / BPO company offering website production, marketing operations, and CX services as part of a much broader portfolio. It competes with DEPART for enterprise web production and O&M mandates, but at significantly larger scale and across many adjacencies.
• Dentsu Digital Inc. Dentsu Digital is the digital arm of Japan's largest advertising group (Dentsu), offering enterprise website production, digital transformation, and brand experience services. It overlaps with DEPART's enterprise website production offering but as part of a much wider portfolio and at much greater scale.

Emerging players

• Squarespace (Block, Inc.): Squarespace is a global website building platform targeting creative professionals, small businesses, and design-conscious brands — overlapping aesthetically with DEPART's design-led positioning. It is a self-serve alternative that competes with DEPART for the brand-site and creative-portfolio end of the Japanese market.
• Wix.com Ltd. Wix is a global website building platform that competes for the same Japanese SMB and lower-mid-market website customer as DEPART, but through a self-serve SaaS model instead of bespoke production services. It exerts pricing pressure on DEPART's lower-end engagement tiers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/seoamigo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DEPART