This past summer, the television series “The Story of Rose” became a sensation, with Liu Yifei’s portrayal of Huang Yimei emerging as one of the most beloved female characters on screen. On social media, the trend of exquisite styling akin to Huang Yimei’s has also been prominent, with the Japanese jewelry brand Tasaki gaining significant popularity among Chinese consumers. Despite most Tasaki styles being priced over ten thousand yuan, the brand has become a must-buy “local specialty” for Chinese tourists in Japan. Recently, this Japanese luxury jewelry brand, beloved by Chinese consumers, has caught the attention of star capital. According to Bloomberg, Asian investment fund FountainVest Partners and Japanese fund Unison Capital have acquired the Japanese jewelry retailer Tasaki & Co., with the acquisition amount expected to reach 100 billion yen, approximately 4.857 billion RMB. Tasaki & Co. is primarily known for its luxury Japanese jewelry brand Tasaki, famed for its quality pearls and unique designs, as well as the “mini jewelry” brand AHKAH.
According to insiders cited by Bloomberg, after being acquired by the two funds, Tasaki plans to further increase its overseas stores to expand profits, with subsequent plans to recoup investments through listing or selling to other companies. Notably, FountainVest Partners, one of the largest private equity funds focused on the Chinese market, has previously completed mergers and acquisitions of Arc’teryx’s parent company Amer Sports with Anta Group and Tencent, marking the largest overseas M&A deal by Chinese enterprises.
On December 3rd, Times Financial sent an email to FountainVest Partners regarding the aforementioned acquisition news, but as of press time, there has been no response.
Last Year’s Rumors of Sale
The Tasaki brand has a long history and has long been associated with the capital market. In 1933, the Tasaki family in Japan began operating their own pearl farm and established the Tasaki brand in 1954. Like many high-end jewelry brands, the Tasaki family tells a story of high-quality raw materials, which has made Tasaki well-known in Japan. What made Tasaki a truly international brand was a more capitalized story. In 1993, Tasaki was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In 2008, South Korean private equity fund MBK Partners acquired the controlling stake of Tasaki for 7 billion yen. In 2009, Tasaki introduced globally experienced luxury goods industry manager Toshikazu Tajima as the company’s global chairman and CEO. The brand also underwent significant reforms, not only changing its name from “Tasaki Pearls” to the more modern “Tasaki” but also firmly committing to expanding into overseas markets. Tajima was also a key figure in helping Tasaki break the stereotype that “pearls are jewelry loved by mothers.” In 2009, Tasaki boldly employed New York fashion designer Thakoon Panichgul to lead the brand’s design. Media reports stated that this Thai-born designer was beloved by former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama at the time. Since then, he has successfully created Tasaki’s most classic and best-selling “balance” series.
However, by 2017, Tasaki’s core pearl business faced sluggish growth in the Japanese market, and the cost of expanding directly into overseas markets impacted the company’s performance in the short term. To avoid shareholder dissatisfaction, MBK Partners led Tasaki’s privatization. After privatization, Tasaki also fell silent in the capital market for a period. Until last November, Reuters cited three insiders saying that MBK Partners would put the Japanese jewelry brand Tasaki up for sale, with a transaction valuation of over $500 million.
Luxury Jewelers Targeting Chinese Consumers
Tang Xiaotang, founder of NoFashion.cn, believes that if the acquisition news is true and FountainVest Partners is involved, it may indicate Tasaki’s further commitment to the Chinese market. He also believes that FountainVest Partners will seek returns by promoting the brand’s listing or selling at a higher price after its value increases further. It is worth mentioning that in Tasaki’s expansion into overseas markets, Chinese consumers have always been an important target for the brand.
Tasaki’s exploration of the Chinese market began more than a decade ago. In 2012, the Year of the Dragon in China, Tasaki released a series of jewelry with dragon scale elements. In the same year, Tasaki opened its flagship store in Beijing’s China World Trade Center. Over the following years, Tasaki successively opened boutique stores in China, with Toshikazu Tajima often visiting to support new stores. The brand’s official website shows that, as of now, Tasaki has 33 stores in mainland China, all located in high-end business districts, with six boutique stores in Shanghai alone. During Tasaki’s deep cultivation in China, the brand’s appearance on Chinese TV screens has also been high. In addition to Liu Yifei in “The Story of Rose,” Yao Chen in “All is Well,” Yuan Quan in “My First Half Life,” and Chen Shu in “Perfect Relationship” have all worn different series of the brand’s pearls. Celebrities such as Liu Shishi, Ren Jialun, and Zhou Ye have also had deeper cooperation with the Tasaki brand.
Tang Xiaotang believes that the capital’s investment in Tasaki also means that China’s high-end jewelry market still has much room for growth, and the listing of Laopu Gold may also verify the returns of the high-end jewelry market. At the same time, in the niche track similar to pearls, domestic Chinese brands are still far from reaching the high-end market. However, Tasaki is not without competitors in the Chinese market; this cake is also hugely attractive to many international brands. In recent years, it has not only been Tasaki that has been targeting the high-end pearl market in China, but also the Japanese brand MIKIMOTO, known for its high-quality seawater pearl jewelry, which has also been expanding stores in China. According to the “2020 Hurun Global Pearl Enterprise Innovation Brand List” released by the Hurun Research Institute, MIKIMOTO and Tasaki rank first and second on the list, respectively. On social media platforms, these two brands are often compared by consumers as a “choose one of two” dilemma. According to reports from Interface News, MIKIMOTO plans to add at least two stores in mainland China by 2024, one in Nanjing International Finance Center and the other in Beijing Wangfujing Central. The brand’s official website data shows that as of December 3rd, MIKIMOTO has opened 18 boutique stores in mainland China.
