Most shoes are sold as a matching pair in the same size, but Japan’s Tokutake Sangyo takes a different approach. The company, based in Sanuki City, Kagawa Prefecture, sells shoes individually, even mismatched pairs with different sizes for the left and right foot. This business model was born out of a need to support elderly and disabled individuals, whose feet often change in size due to age or health conditions, yet are typically forced to buy same-sized pairs.
Tokutake Sangyo is a small company with 80 employees, but its impact on the industry is significant. After carefully listening to customer needs, the company developed “Ayumi shoes” (named after the Japanese word for “walking”) and launched them in 1995. Today, Ayumi shoes hold the largest market share (55%) among the 15 companies in Japan that produce footwear for seniors, far surpassing the second-largest competitor (22%). Designed to prevent falls, Ayumi shoes are known for their lightweight construction and thoughtful design tailored to elderly users.
Founded in 1957, Tokutake Sangyo originally made gloves. However, the company shifted its focus to shoes for the elderly after the company’s founder’s son-in-law, Takao Sogo, took over management. Takao Sogo did not start his career at Tokutake Sangyo; he worked at a bank before joining a different glove company in 1976, where he worked for four years as the factory manager in Masan, South Korea. After returning to Japan, he spent another nine years at the same company. In 1984, after the passing of the founder, Sogo took over Tokutake Sangyo at the age of 37.
During a video interview with ChosunBiz on March 6, Sogo said, “The lifestyle in South Korea is slightly different from Japan, but I hope elderly people in Korea can also wear Ayumi shoes,” adding, “I am not aiming to make money, but want to give back, as I’ve spent four years in Korea.”
You created the Ayumi shoes. What led Tokutake Sangyo, which originally made gloves, to start making shoes?
“When I first became the president, Tokutake Sangyo was manufacturing children’s school shoes, travel slippers, and indoor shoes under original equipment manufacturing (OEM). However, the sales were inconsistent, so I wanted to create our own brand, not just OEM products. A friend who was managing a nursing facility told me that the elderly there often fell, even after changing the floor, and asked me to make shoes that would prevent falls. At the time, Tokutake Sangyo had the technology to make slippers and indoor shoes but not shoes. Moreover, there were no examples of shoes for the elderly in Japan, so there was nothing to base it on. But I decided to take on the challenge to move away from OEM manufacturing.”
Did you personally conduct market research at nursing homes?
“Since other employees were busy, my wife, who was an executive at the time, and I took charge of developing shoes for the elderly. We visited several facilities and spoke with people who were in wheelchairs and elderly residents. Over the course of two years, we listened to 500 people and even had them try out the shoes.”
What kind of shoes did the elderly ask for during the research?
“Some had different sizes for each foot, or one foot was more worn because they used it more. Due to financial difficulties, some people couldn’t afford to buy two pairs of shoes in different sizes, so they stuffed socks into the shoes or padded the toe area. These people had great difficulty walking, which caused them to fall. They requested shoes that were different sizes for each foot.”
Was there any opposition when you started selling single shoes or mismatched pairs?
“Of course, there was opposition. Among the 12,000 shoe manufacturers in Japan, no one sold single shoes or mismatched pairs. Selling only one shoe was considered absurd and unprofitable, and even employees opposed it. However, I wanted to fulfill customer requests. So, in 2001, we began selling single shoes at half the price of a full pair, whether it was for the right or left foot. Since we weren’t making shoes for healthy people, but for the elderly, we incorporated it into our sales system. Since 2001, we’ve been selling shoes with different sizes for each foot.”
I heard that you didn’t patent the business model of selling single shoes or mismatched pairs.
“A patent attorney once told me 30 years ago, when I first developed Ayumi shoes, that I should patent the business model of selling single shoes or mismatched pairs. However, I didn’t want to take away convenience from customers of our competitors, who are also elderly. If possible, I wanted to create an industry for elderly footwear rather than monopolizing the concept. That’s why I chose not to apply for a patent. As a result, competitors have also started selling single shoes or mismatched pairs. Including Tokutake Sangyo, four companies now account for 90–95% of elderly footwear sales. Today, selling single shoes or shoes of different sizes has become the industry standard in Japan.”
What are the key features of Tokutake Sangyo’s elderly footwear?
“The first request my friend, the nursing facility manager, made was to prevent falls. That’s why we designed the ‘Ayumi Curve,’ which slightly raises the toe to prevent tripping. In response to customer needs, we also made the shoes lightweight, in bright colors, with sturdy heels, and at an affordable price. We offer breathable and comfortable facility-use shoes, durable outdoor shoes, indoor shoes for home use, hospital shoes, and orthopedic shoes for those who wear leg braces.”
Which product category sells the most?
“The best-selling shoes are those designed for care facilities.”
Is elderly footwear production financially viable? Were there any difficulties in the beginning?
“It was extremely difficult at first. Initially, we wanted to do B2B sales through wholesalers, but that didn’t work out. We then tried selling directly to nursing homes, but response rates were low, and catalog production and shipping costs were too high to sustain. After much deliberation, we began telemarketing, directly calling facility managers to explain our products, and that’s how sales took off. Currently, due to shipping costs and other factors, we primarily sell through wholesalers rather than directly to facilities. Online sales make up about 4–5% of total sales. Profitability improved as we expanded from in-house production to domestic subcontracting and increased production in China.”
What is the cumulative sales volume of Ayumi shoes?
“As of last December, we have sold about 24 million pairs. Last year alone, we sold approximately 1.4 million pairs, and sales continue to grow.”
Why do you include handwritten thank-you notes and surveys when shipping products?
“Through market research, we realized that many elderly people not only face physical challenges but also suffer from deep loneliness. When we handed them shoes and asked, ‘How do you like these?’ most spent only 3–5 minutes talking about the shoes but would talk about their families for 30–40 minutes. We felt their loneliness. So, we wanted our business to do more than just sell shoes—we wanted to bring warmth to our customers. That’s why we send ‘Magokoro (sincerity) postcards’ handwritten by our staff. Customers are delighted, as if they received a letter from their grandchildren.”
I heard you also include surveys. Is that correct?
“Yes, we send surveys asking about satisfaction with the design, functionality, color, and price. The response rate is about 2%, but we receive 50 to 80 responses daily, totaling around 30,000 per year. Customers leave requests like, ‘I wish there were more color options,’ or ‘My feet swell, so I need shoes designed for that.’ Others write, ‘The shoes are so light I can slip them on without using my hands,’ or ‘I’d like a name tag area since my father wears them outside.’”
During the interview, Sogo spent a significant amount of time showing and explaining these postcards from customers. He flipped through a file of organized responses and read them one by one.
Are there any particularly memorable letters?
“Since the postcards include customers’ names, addresses, and birthdates, we send birthday gifts for two years after a purchase. Most of the responses we receive are expressions of gratitude, but occasionally, we get letters saying, ‘My father (or mother) has passed away, so please stop sending gifts.’”
Are Tokutake Sangyo’s shoes available in South Korea?
“We have been selling Ayumi shoes in South Korea for about 10 years. A Korean subsidiary of a Japanese wholesaler specializing in caregiving products distributes them there. However, awareness of elderly footwear in Korea is still low, so we plan to expand sales to elderly care facilities across the country starting this year.”
