2020.09.29 2024.10.29

Kotobukiya 2020 Shareholders Meeting Report [Figure and Plastic Model Manufacturer]

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Kotobukiya's general shareholders' meeting season has arrived again this year.
That's why I came to Tachikawa.
If you read this, you might understand what it was like for hobby manufacturers during the COVID-19 pandemic!!

Figure related links are here ↓

https://akihabara-bc.jp/figure-kotei/

INDEX

I went to the 67th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Kotobukiya Co., Ltd.
- Scene from the venue - Udora welcomes you
- Q&A -FA:G, Cu-poche, etc.

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I went to the 67th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Kotobukiya Co., Ltd.

Scene from the venue - Udora welcomes you

It is held every year in late SeptemberKotobukiyaGeneral meeting of shareholders.

The event will be held in Tachikawa, where our headquarters is located.

Venue
Until last year, the venue was a hall in the head office, but this year it was held in a nearby"Palace Hotel Tachikawa"It was.

Udora
This year, there will be no exhibition of figures, etc.Udorawas there to greet us.
Udora is a character who is active mainly in Tachikawa. There seems to be quite a lot of merchandise available.
Click here for details ↓
https://udolla.jp/

Stand Pop"Arcanadia"と"Sou-sai Girls Garden"Both are new IPs from Kotobukiya that will be released in the future.
[amazonjs asin="B08GS7M9P2" locale="JP" title="Kotobukiya Sousai Shojo Teien" Yuki Madoka [Momozakura High School, Winter Uniform] Approximately 150mm in height 1/10 scale plastic model JK001"]

It seems to be a general meeting of hobby manufacturers, and many otaku attend as if it were a fan meeting, but this year the number of participants was low.About 30 people in a space with 90 to 100 seatswas the participant.
On the screen in front until it starts"Maruttoys Plastic Model Series"The music video was playing.
[amazonjs asin="B08D9DM9XM" locale="JP" title="MARUTTOYS TAMOTU White Ver. 1/12 scale plastic model, approximately 80mm in length"]

During the business report, slides were shown, but the content was simply a reading of what was written in the notice of the meeting.
The convening noticeKotobukiya's websiteIt's available on , so please check it out.DestructionThe content is something like this.
[amazonjs asin=”B07YLY6R9J” locale=”JP” title=”ARTFX J Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Tanjiro Kamado 1/8 Scale PVC Pre-painted Figure”]

The president also talked a little about growth strategies, but the content was essentially the same as last year and the year before.

Q&A -FA:G, Cu-poche, etc.

Now that the resolutions have been presented, it's time for questions.
Naturally, recording was prohibited, so I will introduce the talk based on my notes. There are some parts that I don't remember very well, so don't take them too seriously.

I'm so happy Udora is here! I missed him last year and the year before, but it was worth it to keep requesting him!
Kotobukiya is well-known in the hobby industry and among otaku, but I think it has little appeal to the general public. Last year I asked about Inada, a member of the Kotobukiya track and field team, but this time I'd like to know more about their contribution to the local community, the Udora Dreams Fund.

I'm glad you enjoyed Udora.
The Udora Dreams Fund is a citizens' group that nurtures the dreams of children in Tachikawa, and hopes to create opportunities to support children's creativity. They are involved in activities such as collecting donations and asking for space, and hope to spread awareness of their activities to the general public through pamphlets and other means. For now, their activities are limited to Tachikawa, but they would like to expand their reach.

For more information about the Udora Dreams Fund, click here:
https://yumetachi.com/

I want to ask about sales promotions.
Regarding Frame Arms Girl (hereafter referred to as FA:G), there has been no anime development since last year's movie, but as a fan I'm looking forward to a sequel, so if possible I'd like to know if there are plans for one.

We are currently considering the scheme. We proceeded with the media expansion of FA:G without any know-how, but this time, we have seen some regrets, for better or worse. We are considering more than just anime, so please look forward to it.

-Afterwards, from the president
They're saying they'll be playing FA:G for 10 years, so I'm sure they'll come up with some kind of survival strategy. (I think I heard that last year too.)

Regarding efforts to increase corporate awareness.
When FA:G was being promoted in the media, Kotobukiya was available in Tachikawa's hometown tax donation program, but I haven't seen it recently. Do you have any plans to participate in hometown tax donation programs again in the future?

I tried out hometown tax donations when planning FA:G, but haven't made any special efforts to promote it since then. I hope to promote it in such places in the future.
They are also sponsoring the Tachikawa marathon, but they have deliberately left out the Kotobukiya name. It might be a good idea to include the name in the future for promotional purposes.

I couldn't find Cu-poche on KotoColle Online the other day. I'd like to know what the future holds for Cu-poche.

It's been a while since the Cu-poche series was launched, and we know it has a lot of support, but the quality of other companies' products has improved, and we've decided that it would be difficult to continue developing it, so we're reviewing it. I'm sorry I can't give you a good answer, but please check out our other products too.

Are you considering production bases outside of China?

Currently, Chinese factories are the main production base. Some single-color molded items are produced domestically, and at one point Vietnam and Thailand were also considered, but the painting skills are so high that it is difficult to break away from China. Currently, all figure manufacturers are watching sideways to see which other companies will take the first step toward moving away from China. It takes at least six months to a year to train artisans, making it extremely difficult. However, labor costs in China are also rising, so the time has come to actively consider moving away from China.
Plastic models may be brought back to Japan to some extent by using paint masks, etc., but there are only a few companies in China that can produce figures of our quality. We are thinking about shifting our production base, but we cannot say for sure by when.

Are there any plans to collaborate with other companies' IPs for the new series "Sousai Shojo Teien"?

At the moment, we are promoting it as a new IP, and if there is an opportunity in the future, we will consider it, but I think that will be after it has sold well as our own IP. First, we need to establish a foothold.

There were six questions in total.
There are a lot of questions about the product.
For now, what I learned this time isIt looks like Cu-poche is on hiatusIs that what it means?

Don't do it!!
This time I didn't get any tea and the Kotobukiya Tachikawa main store wasn't open yet, so I went home empty-handed.