Decollte Holdings Corporation

Business Details

Operates Photo Wedding Service (Studio AQUA, Studio TVB, etc.) and Anniversary Photo Service (HAPISTA/Ashery). In-houses full-time photographers and makeup artists, providing the photography experience itself as value. Revenue of ¥3,156 million for the first half of FY2026 (ending September 2026) accounts for approximately 99.6% of the group total (¥3,169 million), making it the sole reportable segment.

Recent Overview

Both session count and price per session increased, driving an 86% year-on-year surge in first-half operating profit

In the first half of FY2026 (ending September 2026) (October 2025 to March 2026), the Studio Business achieved revenue of ¥3,156 million (up 6.5% year on year) and segment profit of ¥385 million (up 86.4% year on year). A decrease in store repair costs related to restoration work that occurred in the prior-year period contributed to improved profit margins. On the other hand, upfront costs were also incurred, including increased personnel expenses associated with new store openings and hiring of hair/makeup staff, as well as costume purchases for new stores. As a subsequent event, on April 30, 2026, the company made Emu Co., Ltd. and Emu Lab Co., Ltd., which operate Studio Emu in Hyogo Prefecture, wholly owned subsidiaries at an acquisition cost of ¥1,000 million (cash consideration), aiming to strengthen the Anniversary Photo Service and deploy know-how to existing brands.

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Market expansion driven by the bottoming out of the number of marriages (a slight recovery in 2024) and the continued rise in the rate of separate photo-wedding sessions
• Diversification of customer acquisition channels and optimization of advertising expenditure allocation through expanded referral partnerships with other companies, including the capital and business alliance with the IBJ Group
• Existing-store growth driven by increases in both session count (+4.2%) and price per session (+3.9%) (results for the first half of FY2026, ending September 2026)
• Strengthening of the Anniversary Photo Service and deployment of know-how to existing brands (HAPISTA/Ashery) through the full consolidation of Emu Co., Ltd. (April 30, 2026)
• Capturing diverse needs and improving existing-store sales through the new opening of studio Ashery TOKYO and the two-brands-at-one-location strategy
• Maintaining quality consistency and service competitiveness through an in-house training system for full-time photographers and makeup artists

Risks

• Risk of contraction in the traditional bridal market due to the long-term declining trend in the number of marriages in Japan (the traditional wedding ceremony and reception market continues to show no full-fledged recovery)
• Risk of price and customer-acquisition competition due to an increase in new entrants into the photo wedding market and intensifying competition (some operators have recently withdrawn from the business due to intensifying competition)
• Risk of earnings volatility due to rising fixed costs, including increased personnel expenses associated with new store openings and promotion of hair/makeup staff hiring
• Risk of goodwill recognition (amount undetermined) and future impairment associated with the acquisition of Emu Co., Ltd. (acquisition cost of ¥1,000 million)
• Risk of increased financial leverage due to an ¥800 million loan from Mizuho Bank (10 years, with financial covenants) to finance the Emu acquisition
• Risk of earnings volatility due to a fixed cost structure involving lease liability balances (current ¥625 million, non-current ¥2,754 million, as of end of March 2026)
• Difficulty in securing specialized personnel such as photographers and makeup artists (increased recruitment costs, difficulty in staffing regional locations)