HOTMAN Co.,Ltd.
3190・Standard Market・Retail Trade
Business
Hotman Co., Ltd. is a retail company headquartered in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, established in 1975. It operates a total of 124 stores, centered on Yellow Hat (90 stores) as its core business, along with TSUTAYA (6 stores), Up Garage (8 stores), Daiso (6 stores), Car7 (3 stores), Komeda Coffee (1 store), Chateraise (4 stores), Kaitori Daikichi (1 store), and lottery ticket counters (5 stores). Its primary store locations are in the Tohoku region, centered on Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate, with additional expansion into Nagano, Ibaraki, and Tochigi. While centered on automotive parts sales, vehicle inspections, and maintenance, the company positions itself strategically as a "mega franchisee" that bundles multiple business formats under franchise agreements. Its primary customer base consists of general consumers residing in regional areas who own private vehicles.
Business Model
The company enters into franchise agreements with various franchisor headquarters (Yellow Hat, Culture Convenience Club, UP GARAGE Group, etc.) and operates stores by leveraging their brands, procurement channels, and operational know-how. The Yellow Hat business accounts for approximately 77% of sales, with car accessories merchandise sales, vehicle inspections, and maintenance labor charges as the main revenue sources. The multi-format store development strategy is designed to guide customers waiting during vehicle servicing to stores of other business formats, thereby raising the average spend per customer and visit frequency across the group as a whole.
Company Strengths
The group store agreement with Yellow Hat Ltd. was first concluded in September 1984, with a track record of over 40 years of continuity. The contract format does not require royalty payments, giving it a cost structure advantage compared to other franchise businesses. In FY2026 (ending March 2026), sales in the Yellow Hat segment were ¥17,340 million, accounting for approximately 77% of total company sales, forming a stable revenue base.
The company operates 90 Yellow Hat stores across six prefectures—Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, Nagano, Ibaraki, and Tochigi—building a dominant presence with a particular concentration of 32 stores in Miyagi Prefecture. The securities report explicitly states the effects of avoiding lost sales opportunities through inventory sharing between nearby stores for out-of-stock items, as well as deterring entry by competitors. In FY2026 (ending March 2026), a store relocation was also carried out in Chikusei City, Ibaraki Prefecture.
By bundling different business formats—car accessories, books, used car accessories, hundred-yen shops, cafes, confectionery, buyback services, and lottery tickets—the company diversifies risk associated with dependence on a single business format. The securities report describes a structure in which the multi-format store deployment strategy promotes a routine of customers using other-format stores while waiting for car inspections and maintenance, thereby increasing visit frequency across the group as a whole.
ENVALITH's Perspective
Performance Trend
Net sales reached ¥22,501 million (up 2.7% year on year), maintaining a five-consecutive-year growth trend. Net income increased to ¥356 million (up 6.7% year on year), but this was attributable to the recording of a gain on sale of investment securities of ¥148 million (extraordinary income). Operating income of ¥648 million (down 2.0% year on year) and ordinary income of ¥703 million (down 3.7% year on year) both declined, indicating a decline in core business profitability. The main causes were an increase in cost of sales due to soaring procurement prices in the Yellow Hat business, along with an increase in various expenses. Looking at the five-year trend, profit recovered sharply in FY2025 (ending March 2025) (operating income up 130%), and while FY2026 (ending March 2026) maintained a high level, it turned to a slight decline. Operating cash flow improved year on year to ¥1,092 million, and the cash balance increased to ¥1,543 million, indicating a stable financial foundation.
Growth Strategy
Maximizing profitability of the mega-FC model through strengthened vehicle inspection services, improved gross profit margin, and deepening of multi-format franchise operations
The company will expand high-margin labor revenue by promoting designated vehicle inspection facility status and strengthening seasonal services such as summer "air conditioner gas cleaning." Combined with stabilizing customer visits through web-based work reservations and app membership promotion, it plans to achieve a gross profit margin of 45.6%, an increase of approximately 1 percentage point, in FY2027 (ending March 2027).
The company continues to promote improvement of gross profit margin through review of the profit structure and operational efficiency improvements. In FY2026 (ending March 2026), segment profit reached ¥157 million (up 51.9% year on year), with the effects of these measures becoming evident. In FY2027 (ending March 2027), the company plans to strengthen purchasing to capture demand for used goods driven by continued frugality-oriented consumer behavior.
The company continues to close unprofitable stores in order to reduce losses. In FY2026 (ending March 2026), the closure of 2 stores reduced the segment loss from ¥85 million to ¥29 million. The policy is to maintain a trend of increasing existing-store sales through strengthening the product lineup and improving item content in books, stationery, and general merchandise.
The company is promoting co-location with lifestyle-oriented franchise formats such as Daiso, Komeda, and Kaitori Daikichi, creating synergies whereby customers waiting for their vehicles use other formats. In FY2026 (ending March 2026), the "Other" segment achieved sales of ¥2,607 million and segment profit of ¥128 million, up 22.5% year on year in profit, increasing its presence as a complementary segment.
Last updated: July 19, 2026