First steps
- 1908 Brokerage opened
- Jukichi Moritou founded the company by opening a brokerage for eyelets and hooks in a store rented from Yamano Bags in Utsubo, Nishi-ku, Osaka.
- 1916 Own store opened in Senba
- The company opened a store in Kyutaro-machi, Senba, where Osaka's merchants were concentrated. Domestically produced rubber shoes were developed in 1918, which created growing demand for such accessories as eyelets, hooks, and shoestrings. The company began employing staff at this time, and the initial key staff members like the second president Tokuichi Yamaguchi and the third president Tadao Nishitani soon came on board.
Growing rapidly during the turbulent war years
- 1932 Relocated to Midosuji
- Following the smooth growth of business, the company moved to Midosuji, where our head office is currently located.
- 1935 Morito Shoten Corporation established
- After Morito Shoten Corporation was established, sales routes were expanded all the way to Hokkaido, and an Export Department and Purchasing Department were formed, launching overseas business in earnest.
- 1938 Advancing overseas
- Established Kowa Yoko in Andong, China, following the expanded demand for goods for military use in the war, followed by Kowa Factory (strings for military shoes), Kyowa & Co. (sales of eyelets), and Yuei Factory (eyelets and hooks) in Mukden (now Shenyang), China. Unfortunately, the company was temporarily dissolved following the sudden death of Jukichi Moritou and the impact of the war-time control system.
Towards a rebirth in the turbulent post-war days
- 1947 First step toward resurrection
- Morito Shoten Corporation, led by president Tokuichi Yamaguchi, made a fresh restart. The Tokyo Office was opened in the following year.
- 1949 Hit product born
- 515 Snap, Japan's first all-silk shoestrings, were developed and introduced to the market, and soon became a smash hit. Soon after, Morito Metal Co., Ltd. (now Kane-M Industrial) and Morito Shoestring Co., Ltd. (now Kane-M Industry), both under direct management, were set up and the company started to grow at a rapid pace in line with the recovery of the Japanese economy, supported by the decision to begin selling Velcro®.
On the road to modernization
- 1967 20th anniversary of our resurrection
- Twenty years after the company's resurrection following the end of the war, the company had grown to employ 500 people, and because it was no longer that little Morito Shoten shop in Senba, it was necessary to become a full-fledged business enterprise.
- 1970 Strengthening the corporate foundation
- The company started promoting a labor management system, based on which the company focused greater effort on reinforcing the corporate foundation through the introduction of systematic management plans and the modernization of management.
- 1976 Company name changed
- The company name was changed to Morito Co., Ltd. with the hope of growing into a global specialized trading company, while honoring the legacy of the Morito name.
- 1989 Shares listed on the Osaka Stock Exchange
- The company's shares were listed in the second section of the Osaka Stock Exchange. This completed the necessary groundwork for expanding the business bases to the U.S.A., Europe, Asia, and various other parts of the world, in addition to helping to upgrade the domestic bases.
Towards another 100 years
- 1990 First medium-to-long range management plan
- The company worked out its first medium-to-long range management plan, called Creation & Intelligence 21, to lay out the direction for growth in the future. Soon after, the company went through a very difficult time as many businesses went bankrupt due to the drastic changes in the economy and the market that took place both inside Japan and around the world.
- 2004 Action 400 introduced
- The company pushed ahead with its overseas business strategies and logistics business through the second and third medium-to-long range management plans. In the fourth medium-to-long range management plan, called Action 400, the company tackled drastic reorganization and system integration.
- 2008 First centenary of foundation
- Rising to meet the challenges of the next 100 years and dreaming to achieve even more while honoring the memories of our predecessors. As Morito celebrates the 100th anniversary year of its founding, it looks back with fondness and warm memories as it stands at the starting point of another 100 years.