What Felissimo Universal Corp does

Felissimo Co., Ltd. (フェリシモ), operating in the US as Felissimo Universal Corp, is a Japanese direct marketing and catalog company founded in 1970 (originally as Hisense Co., Ltd.), headquartered in Kobe since 1995. The company sells curated lifestyle products across fashion, innerwear, beauty, children's, household goods, food, and home-lesson categories through monthly subscription catalogs, e-commerce (felissimo.co.jp), and physical retail popups. It operates approximately 30+ proprietary sub-brands including YOU+MORE!, haco., IEDIT, Kraso, Couturier, Live in comfort, and the signature 500-color colored pencil set, with products developed through collaborations with prominent Japanese and international designers.

The company operates multiple non-retail business lines that diversify revenue: the Felissimo Chocolate Museum and Sincro rotating-chef food theater (both opened in the new Stage Felissimo HQ in Kobe in 2021 and 2022 respectively), f winery, cultural event programming (Kobe School / 神戸学校), and contracted government programs (Hyogo Prefecture childcare support catalog, Kobe City baby welcome gift program). Felissimo runs an extensive community "club" ecosystem (部活) including a cat department (猫部) supporting 65 animal welfare organizations, an art club (Rin-b!), a museum club, and others, with a reported 2.97 million customers participating in the Earth Village Fund charitable program.

Felissimo also maintains an international footprint through wholly-owned retail operations in New York (since 1992), Shanghai, and Beijing, plus a Chateau in Burgundy, France acquired as a 20th-anniversary property. The company is privately held, with Kazuhiko Yazaki serving as President & CEO. Multiple subsidiaries (Stage Felissimo, Espace Felissimo, Sincro, Felissimo Chocolate Museum, f winery, 猫部パーラー) operate as wholly-owned core operating entities. Felissimo has won numerous global design awards including Red Dot Design Award 2019 best of the best, iF Design Award 2017, multiple Good Design Awards, and the UNESCO Picasso Medal (1981, 1984), positioning the brand at the intersection of commerce, design, and cultural philanthropy.

Name

Felissimo Universal Corp

Legal name

FELISSIMO Co., Ltd. (フェリシモ株式会社)

Website

https://felissimo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Felissimo is a Japanese catalog and e-commerce direct marketing company selling curated lifestyle products (fashion, beauty, children's, household, food) across 30+ sub-brands to mass-market consumers in Japan, with international retail operations in New York and China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kobe

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Catalog Sales / Direct Marketing: Monthly catalog distribution to customers in Japan, offering curated lifestyle products across fashion, interior goods, food, children's items, and hobby/learning products. Orders are fulfilled through the company's proprietary logistics network.
2. E-commerce (Online Sales): Online sales through felissimo.co.jp and associated brand websites, offering the same product catalog digitally.
3. Retail / Popup Stores: Physical retail operations including popup shops and brand-specific stores (e.g., 猫部パーラー, YOU+MORE! POPUP shops), targeting young female consumers in urban areas of Japan.
4. Brand Licensing & Collaborative Products: Revenue from collaborative products developed with partner brands and designers, including licensed characters (Hello Kitty, Dick Bruna/Miffy) and co-branded collections.
5. Event Spaces & Cultural Facilities: Revenue from Stage Felissimo — a multi-purpose cultural facility including a chocolate museum, restaurant, and event space — serving as both brand experience and revenue stream.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Felissimo is a Japanese mail-order catalog and e-commerce retailer that sells curated lifestyle products through monthly catalogs and online storefronts. Its assortment spans fashion, innerwear and beauty, children's and family products, household goods and interior items, specialty food, and educational/hobby lesson programs. The company operates an extensive portfolio of proprietary sub-brands (e.g., YOU+MORE!, haco., IEDIT, Kraso, Couturier, Sunny clouds, Felissimo LX) and complements sales with cultural/experiential facilities such as Stage Felissimo and the Felissimo Chocolate Museum.

Product overview

Felissimo is a Japanese mail-order catalog company offering a diverse portfolio of products and services organized across multiple product categories: Fashion (including collaboration items, designer partnerships, and everyday clothing), Innerwear & Beauty (yoga-inspired innerwear, beauty products), Children & Family (baby products, maternity items, family clothing), Sundries & Interior (household goods, masks, eco-products), Handmade Goods (DIY kits), Home Lessons (educational programs in illustration, cooking, acting), Food (specialty items including chocolates, teas, wines), and Special/Present items. The company operates numerous sub-brands including haco., YOU+MORE!, Live in comfort, IEDIT, Kraso, Sunny clouds, and Felissimo LX, among others. Felissimo also maintains community-based initiatives called 'clubs' (部活) including 猫部 (cat lovers), 女子DIY部 (women's DIY), 魔法部 (magic club), and others. The company's Stage Felissimo headquarters serves as both a physical facility and creative platform, with subsidiary projects like Sincro (culinary theater) and Pla+Farm (creative meeting space). Felissimo also partners with local governments on regional initiatives such as Hyogo Prefecture infant childcare support and Kobe City baby welcome programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• YOU+MORE!: Various unique and creative products with playful designs
• haco.
• IEDIT
• Kraso
• Couturier
• Sunny Clouds
• Live in comfort
• CHEEKYLIBERI
• Felissimo LX
• frauglatt
• SeeMONO
• Squee!
• Once a day
• SUNNY CLOUDS
• KUUM
• 500色の色えんぴつ
• flufeel
• materialoop
• Grameen Felissimo
• フェリシモ・フルフィルメント・サービス
• Felissimo Partners
• 弥栄ファーム
• Sincro
• f winery
• 猫部
• Mama
• OSYAIRO
• Rin-b!
• おてらぶ
• Museum department
• Magic department
• Bird department
• Sea and gull department

Products and services

• YOU+MORE! Sub-brand offering collaborative, novelty-driven lifestyle products including the design transparent umbrella series and aquarium collaborations, sold through the catalog, e-commerce, and popup stores targeting consumers seeking distinctive, mascot-driven design items.
• haco. Women's fashion sub-brand with whimsical illustrations and styling proposals, including artist collaborations like the NUSY product line, distributed through catalog and e-commerce.
• Live in comfort Comfort-focused everyday clothing brand developed in collaboration with model Naoko Hamajima, offering practical yet fashionable items for working women.
• IEDIT Fashion sub-brand offering adult casual style items through catalog and e-commerce, with media-driven styling collaborations including stylist 福田麻琴.
• Kraso Catalog sub-brand offering curated lifestyle proposals and unique living items across the catalog and e-commerce channels.
• Couturier Fashion sub-brand offering customized and tailored clothing items, recognized for packaging design that doubles as pattern paper.
• CHEEKYLIBERI Children's and family fashion sub-brand featuring playful and colorful designs, distributed through catalog and e-commerce.
• 500色の色えんぴつ (500 Color Pencils) Signature 500-colored-pencil set where each color has its own name, recognized for beautiful color gradients and drawing comfort. Award-winning product, winner of Red Dot Design Award 2019 best of the best.
• KUUM Innovative building block toy set inspired by the poetic beauty of Japanese nature, with meticulously calculated unique shapes. Award-winning construction toy.
• Felissimo LX Premium lifestyle sub-brand offering high-quality everyday items targeting consumers seeking elevated design and craftsmanship.
• Sunny clouds Fashion sub-brand featuring bright, airy designs and influencer collaborations, including the bonpon linked-coordinate outfit collaboration.
• frauglatt Fashion sub-brand featuring French-inspired designs and elegant styles sold through catalog and e-commerce.
• Galafull Sub-brand featuring mask products, including the Galafull mask series, sold through catalog and e-commerce.
• and myera Fashion sub-brand offering contemporary clothing and lifestyle items sold through catalog and e-commerce.
• SeeMONO Lifestyle sub-brand focused on minimalist and thoughtful product design, sold through catalog and e-commerce.
• OSYAIRO Otaku activity sub-brand enabling fans to enjoy favorite idol or group colors through fashion and accessories, including character-colored items.
• Squee! Felissimo sub-brand featuring playful and cheerful products with unique designs sold through catalog and e-commerce.
• Felissimo Mama Maternity and postpartum brand offering products suitable for pregnancy through postpartum periods, with community engagement via Instagram and catalog distribution.
• Stage Felissimo Multi-purpose cultural facility and company headquarters opened January 18, 2021 at a Kobe waterfront location, housing the Felissimo Chocolate Museum, Sincro restaurant, event spaces, and retail areas. Functions as a cultural venue and brand experience center.
• Sincro Culinary theater launched December 2022 within Felissimo headquarters, featuring rotating chefs and cuisine styles in a 'theater of food' concept.
• Felissimo Chocolate Museum Chocolate museum located within Stage Felissimo headquarters, featuring cacao-related exhibitions and collaborations with chocolatiers and cacao producers.
• FELISSIMO NEW YORK Conceptual retail shop in Manhattan's West 56th Street opened in 1992, selling artist-designed products. Positions Felissimo internationally as a design-led lifestyle retailer.
• Felissimo Monthly Catalog Subscription Subscription-based monthly mail-order catalog service delivering curated lifestyle products across fashion, interior, food, children's, and hobby categories. Subscribers place orders by phone or mail through the company's proprietary logistics network.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.97 million customers have participated in the Earth Village Fund (みんなの地球村), supporting projects in 47 countries
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• 吉野慶一 / Dari K (Cacao Producer)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Cacao producer Keiichi Yoshino (Dari K) partnered with Felissimo through the Kobe School lectures (2016, 2021) and the Felissimo Chocolate Museum. Dari K creates premium chocolate from Indonesian cacao, promoting 'All-win' production models. Special exhibitions have been held at the Felissimo Chocolate Museum.
• 小山進 / Pâtissier Es KoyamaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Celebrated patissier Susumu Koyama collaborated on the 'Ultimate Milk Chocolate' project (2013) and the Minitsuku 'Patissier Lesson Program.' Products were featured in a dedicated exhibition at the Felissimo Chocolate Museum.
• UNESCO / United NationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Felissimo helped Kobe City achieve UNESCO Creative Cities Design status in 2008 (first in Asia). Felissimo has a history of collaboration with UNESCO dating back to the 50th UN Anniversary project (1994) and received the UNESCO Picasso Medal in 1981 and 1984.
• New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1992Established jointly in 1992 as a platform to support emerging artists and fuse art with daily living goods. The award invited New York-based artists to submit works that were innovative, environmentally friendly, and harmonized life with nature. Winners received prizes and their works were developed into mass-producible products.
• Smith & HawkencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1991In autumn 1991, Felissimo entered a business partnership with Smith & Hawken, the American garden and home goods company founded by Paul Hawken. The partnership emphasized ecological and earth-friendly products, with Smith & Hawken serving as a key partner for Felissimo's eco-conscious positioning. Garden products, household goods, and casual clothing from this partnership became long-selling items, reinforcing Felissimo's commitment to daily ecological thinking.
• Grameen Bank / Professor Muhammad YunuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFelissimo partnered with Professor Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh to create 'Grameen Felissimo,' a brand that combines design with social impact. The initiative supports disadvantaged people in Bangladesh by providing employment through traditional 'Grameen Check' textiles. The project positions the fabric as a 'symbol of hope' — empowering communities through dignified work.
• World Crafts Council / Various international craft organizationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough the 'Earth Village' (みんなの地球村) project, Felissimo collaborates with traditional craft producers worldwide to create products while providing economic support to artisans in developing countries. The project covers 47 countries with 129 supported initiatives.
• Kobe City GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFelissimo has maintained a close partnership with Kobe City since relocating its headquarters from Osaka in 1995. The company supported Kobe's reconstruction after the Great Hanshin Earthquake and has partnered on initiatives including the Kobe Urban Design Award (2023), UNESCO Creative Cities designation, 'Live Love Kobe' relocation promotion, and cat welfare initiatives through the city's local consumption tax program.
• Hyogo PrefecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFelissimo partnered with Hyogo Prefecture to launch the 'Kobecco Welcome Present' program (2019) — a child-rearing support initiative providing gifts to babies born in Kobe. The company also operates the 'Hello Hyogokko' baby gift catalog program commissioned by the prefecture.
• 井上涼 (Ryo Inoue)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtist Ryo Inoue collaborated with Felissimo to create 'Iitokoritoriippu' — unique bird icons for all 47 Japanese prefectures, each representing the distinctive characteristics of its region. This initiative combined cute design with local revitalization goals.
• 吉田ヒロミ (Hiromi Yoshida)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFashion designer Hiromi Yoshida, a former Givenchy staff member and Harper's Bazaar stylist, has collaborated with Felissimo for approximately 30 years. Her brand 'HIROMI YOSHIDA' and Chou Chou Enfant collections have been developed with Felissimo.
• 京都大学iPS細胞研究所 (Kyoto University iPS Cell Research Institute)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFelissimo supports the iPS Cell Research Fund at Kyoto University under Director Shinya Yamanaka. Customer-collected merit points are contributed to the fund, supporting researcher employment and intellectual property acquisition.
• AIM医学研究基金 (AIM Medical Research Fund)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished by 猫部 in spring 2022 to support AIM medical research for cat kidney disease treatment. Proceeds from charity merchandise sales support the development of AIM formulations for both feline and human medicine.
• 国立極地研究所 (National Institute of Polar Research)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner猫部 collaborated with the National Institute of Polar Research on merchandise tied to 'Takeishi,' a rare male calico cat that accompanied Japan's first Antarctic observation mission. Proceeds support the Polar Region Research Fund.
• Grameen Felissimo (Bangladesh)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFelissimo has operated a Nepal Felt Bag project since 1999, which grew from a 3-person workshop to employing 300 women. The project provides stable income enabling workers' children to attend school.
• 花井幸子 (Yukiko Hanai)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigner Yukiko Hanai collaborated with Felissimo through the Danseuse brand, creating elegant dance-inspired apparel and lifestyle products.
• Maurizio GalanteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench designer Maurizio Galante collaborated with Felissimo, bringing avant-garde fashion design to the Japanese market through dedicated product collections.
• 田中達也 (Tatsuya Tanaka, Miniature Artist)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMiniature photographer and 'microtactics' artist Tatsuya Tanaka (over 3.1M Instagram followers) collaborated on original goods including tote bags, cushions, and condiment sets through Sunny Clouds brand.
• 福田繁雄 (Shigeo Fukuda)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternationally acclaimed graphic designer Shigeo Fukuda collaborated with Felissimo on various creative projects, bringing his surrealist, unexpected visual concepts to product design.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Belluna Co., Ltd. Japanese catalog and e-commerce retailer with multiple sub-brands across fashion, lifestyle, and home goods. Comparable to Felissimo in catalog-distribution model, sub-brand portfolio strategy, and Japanese mid-market consumer focus.
• RH (Restoration Hardware): Western premium lifestyle catalog and showroom retailer (galerie-led) selling design-forward home furnishings. Comparable to Felissimo in catalog-and-flagship-experience hybrid model, premium design positioning, and brand-as-lifestyle philosophy.
• ZOZO, Inc. Japanese fashion e-commerce platform (ZOZOTOWN) that competes for Felissimo's apparel and fashion-conscious consumers. Directly comparable in fashion D2C digital model, though ZOZO is pure e-commerce/marketplace versus Felissimo's catalog heritage.
• Anthropologie (URBN): Western lifestyle catalog and retail brand (part of Urban Outfitters Inc.) selling design-forward apparel, home goods, and gifts. Comparable to Felissimo in design-led catalog-to-retail model, premium positioning, and curated lifestyle merchandising.
• Senshukai Co., Ltd. Japanese catalog and mail-order retailer operating the Belle Maison catalog, selling fashion, interior, and family lifestyle products. The closest direct comparable to Felissimo in terms of catalog-led business model, multi-category lifestyle assortment, and Japanese domestic focus.
• Nissen Holdings Co., Ltd. Japanese catalog and online retailer specializing in apparel and family lifestyle products, with similar subscription-style catalog offerings. Comparable to Felissimo in catalog channel, Japanese consumer base, and lifestyle product breadth.
• Orbis Holdings Inc. Japanese catalog and D2C beauty/cosmetics retailer using subscription-based catalog model. Comparable to Felissimo in catalog subscription model and Japanese consumer focus, though narrower in category (beauty only).
• Dinos Corporation: Japanese catalog retailer offering diversified lifestyle products through Cecile and Dinos catalogs. Directly comparable to Felissimo as a multi-category catalog retailer with similar customer segments and distribution model.

Broad incumbents

• Rakuten Group, Inc. Japan's largest e-commerce platform with broad lifestyle merchandise. Indirect competitor to Felissimo's e-commerce pivot; comparable in targeting Japanese lifestyle consumers but operating at vastly different scale and breadth.
• Ryohin Keikaku Co., Ltd. (Muji): Japanese lifestyle retail brand offering design-forward household goods, apparel, and food. Comparable to Felissimo as a broader Japanese lifestyle retailer with international presence, though much larger scale and physical-store-led versus catalog-led.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/felissimo_santa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZ5w
• Facebookfacebook.com/122059204541101
• Instagraminstagram.com/felissimo_official/?hl=ja
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/felissimo-universal-corp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries10 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 Felissimo Universal Corp