What Bookoff Group does

Bookoff Group (ブックオフグループ) is a Japanese publicly listed (tyo:9278) second-hand goods retailer founded in 1991 and headquartered in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The company operates over 800 physical retail stores across Japan under the BOOKOFF brand, including large-format BOOKOFF SUPER BAZAAR stores carrying approximately 250,000 items and community-focused Hometown Book Off locations targeting bookless areas. Internationally, the company has expanded to 26 stores in Malaysia and Kazakhstan, targeting quality-conscious Asian consumers. The core business model is a buy-and-resell operation: Bookoff purchases used books, CDs, DVDs, games, electronics, clothing, and accessories from consumers through multiple channels — in-store appraisal, home pickup, mail-in, and the R-LOOP municipal collection boxes — and resells them at markup through both physical stores and its owned e-commerce platform at shopping.bookoff.co.jp.

The product portfolio extends beyond retail into circular economy services. The R-LOOP waste collection service, launched in November 2024 as a public-private-academic partnership, has scaled to approximately 55 tons collected across over 400 locations by February 2026, with municipal partnerships in Atsugi City and three Akita Prefecture locations. Distribution combines an extensive owned retail network, the owned e-commerce site, a mobile app with stamp card functionality, social media presence, and a FamilyMart convenience store channel partnership. The company has also moved into circular economy education through university partnerships and school career programs. Recent product actions include the June 2026 rebrand of its cashless purchase service to 'Omakase Purchase' (おまかせ買取) and continued SUPER BAZAAR expansion, including the ユーカリが丘スカイプラザ店 and 豊中三国店 openings. Revenue and detailed financial metrics are not disclosed in the available data, and the company operates under a Kanagawa Prefectural second-hand dealer permit covering both offline and online operations.

Name

Bookoff Group

Legal name

ブックオフコーポレーション株式会社

Website

https://bookoff.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Bookoff Group is a Japanese publicly listed second-hand goods retailer operating over 800 stores across Japan plus 26 international stores, buying and reselling used books, media, clothing, and electronics to general consumers through physical retail, e-commerce, and circular economy services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Second-hand Goods Retail

NAICS

Book Retailers and News Dealers (459210), Used Merchandise Retailers (45951), Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, and Miscellaneous Retailers (459)

SIC

Retail-Variety Stores (5331), Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)

akta.pro primary industry

Books, Media & Entertainment Inventory-led Online Retailers (CRAFADAM)

Keywords

• Second-hand retail
• Used bookstore chain
• Reuse services
• Circular economy retail
• Second-hand media

Headquarters

HQ city

Sagamihara

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Second-hand Goods Retail: Bookoff generates revenue through the purchase and resale of used goods including books, CDs, DVDs, games, electronics, clothing, and accessories. The company buys items from consumers at its stores and resells them to other customers at marked-up prices.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Bookoff Group buys used books, CDs, DVDs, games, comics, clothing, electronics, and accessories from individual consumers through store counters, home pickup, on-site visits, mail-in, and instant-payment intake services, then resells these items at marked-up prices across more than 800 physical BOOKOFF retail stores and the official online store. The company also operates the R-LOOP waste collection service for clothing and item reuse as part of a public-private-academic circular-economy partnership.

Product overview

Bookoff Group operates a multi-channel second-hand goods retail platform consisting of physical retail stores (ブックオフ), an e-commerce online store (ブックオフ公式オンラインストア), and various purchase services (宅配買取, 出張買取, おまかせ買取). The company also offers the R-LOOP waste collection service for circular economy initiatives. The retail stores include standard BOOKOFF locations, large-format BOOKOFF SUPER BAZAAR stores, and community-focused Hometown Book Off stores. Products span used books, comics, CDs, DVDs, games, fashion, electronics, and collectibles. The portfolio also includes a mobile application with stamp card functionality.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BOOKOFF SUPER BAZAAR: Large-format super store concept with expanded sales floor space
• ブックオフグループホールディングス株式会社

Products and services

• BOOKOFF Retail Stores Network of more than 800 physical retail stores across Japan selling used books, CDs, DVDs, games, comics, and other second-hand goods; customers can also sell their items to the stores through in-store appraisal services. Targets individual consumers seeking affordable used media and goods.
• BOOKOFF Official Online Store E-commerce platform (shopping.bookoff.co.jp) for buying and selling used books, comics, CDs, DVDs, games, and collectibles online, with categorized listings, search functionality, nationwide shipping, and a 1,800-yen free-shipping threshold.
• In-Store Purchase Service Counter appraisal and cash purchase service at BOOKOFF stores, enabling customers to sell unwanted used books, media, clothing, electronics, and accessories directly to Bookoff for resale.
• Home Delivery Purchase Service Door-to-door pickup service (宅配買取) where Bookoff collects unwanted items from customers' homes for purchase, enabling convenient decluttering and sale of large items or bulk quantities without visiting a store.
• On-site Purchase Service On-site appraisal and purchase service (出張買取) in which Bookoff staff visit customer locations to evaluate and purchase large volumes of used items, typically used for full-house clearouts or commercial sellers.
• Omakase Purchase Service Instant-payment purchase service (rebranded from Cashless Purchase in June 2026) that lets customers receive immediate cash payment for eligible items without waiting for the traditional appraisal process.
• BOOKOFF SUPER BAZAAR Large-format retail store format offering an extended assortment of second-hand goods under one roof, with flagship locations carrying around 250,000 items across over 500 tsubo of sales floor.
• Hometown Book Off Community-focused smaller-format BOOKOFF store targeting Japanese municipalities with limited book access, designed to create reading opportunities for children and promote a circular society through reuse; the third location opened in Fukaura, Aomori Prefecture in March 2026.
• R-LOOP Waste Collection Service Waste collection service for clothing and other reusable items, operated in partnership with BPLab and municipal governments, enabling consumers to deposit unwanted items at collection boxes to support the circular economy; as of February 2026 the service has collected approximately 55 tons across more than 400 locations.

Quantifiable outcome

• R-LOOP collected 55 tons of items across 400+ locations

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Yabuki Town, Akita PrefectureminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Book Off Corporation signed a partnership agreement with Yabuki Town, Akita Prefecture to promote regional revitalization and a circular society through reuse business initiatives. The agreement includes donating books to local children's facilities, implementing career education programs on circular economies in local schools, and installing collection boxes for unwanted items.
• Happo Town, Akita PrefectureminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Partnership agreement with Happo Town, Akita Prefecture as part of Book Off's regional revitalization initiatives through reuse business.
• Yamamoto District, Akita PrefectureminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 2026Partnership agreement with Yamamoto District, Akita Prefecture as part of Book Off's circular society promotion initiatives.
• BPLabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2026Bookoff Group Holdings partnered with BPLab to operate the R-LOOP waste collection service, which promotes clothing and item reuse and recycling. This collaboration is Japan's first public-private-academic partnership utilizing the R-LOOP service.
• Atsugi CitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2026Atsugi City partnered with Bookoff Group Holdings and BPLab for the R-LOOP waste collection service, with collection boxes to be installed at 31 locations across the city starting April 1, 2026.
• Five Universities in Atsugi CitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 March 2026Five universities in Atsugi City partnered with Bookoff Group Holdings as part of Japan's first public-private-academic partnership for the R-LOOP waste collection service.
• FamilyMartminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with FamilyMart convenience store chain as a retail partner for Japanese second-hand goods distribution, part of the broader trend of Japanese re-use companies partnering with major retailers.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Off House (Hard-Off Group): Reuse retail banner under the Hard-Off group specializing in used clothing, accessories, and household goods. Sister concept to Bookoff with shared parent operating model and customer overlap.
• TSUTAYA (Culture Convenience Club): Operates TSUTAYA bookstores, video/game rental, and secondhand media retail across Japan. Directly competes with Bookoff in books and used media, with overlapping target consumers.
• 2nd STREET (GEO Holdings): Operates second-hand clothing and general merchandise stores under GEO Holdings, with international presence including Malaysia and the US. Direct overlap with Bookoff's clothing and accessory categories and similar international expansion strategy.
• KOMEHYO: Japanese second-hand retailer specializing in luxury goods, watches, jewelry, and branded clothing with physical stores and online channels. Comparable buy-sell model targeting similar Japanese middle-market consumer with circular-economy positioning.
• Hard Off Corporation: Hard-Off operates the largest chain of used goods reuse shops in Japan (books, electronics, clothing, furniture) under multiple banners including Book-Off's sister chains. Directly comparable second-hand retail model with physical-store-dominated GTM.
• GEO Holdings: Major Japanese second-hand retailer operating GEO stores focused on used DVDs, CDs, games, books, and electronics — overlapping SKU mix and customer base with Bookoff's core media categories.

Broad incumbents

• Yamada Denki: Japan's largest consumer electronics retailer; operates reuse trade-in programs and secondhand appliance trade-ins that overlap with Bookoff's electronics category. Broader portfolio player rather than secondhand specialist.
• Rakuten (Rakuma): Major Japanese e-commerce platform operating Rakuma, a C2C secondhand marketplace. Indirect competitor for online used-goods transactions and a potential channel partner for Bookoff's inventory.

Emerging players

• Mercari: Japan-founded C2C marketplace for secondhand goods including books, media, clothing, and electronics. Competes for sell-side supply and consumer demand via mobile-first platform with no physical-store overhead.

Regional players

• Ragtag (TFD Corporation): Operates branded second-hand clothing stores in Japan focused on fashion and accessories. Comparable reuse retail model with online channel; smaller footprint but similar quality-conscious consumer positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bookoff
• Facebookfacebook.com/bookoffcorporation
• Instagraminstagram.com/bookoff_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Bookoff Group