ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yoshihisa Suzuki, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it will launch the School Life e-commerce platform providing online solutions for school uniforms and learning equipment to new students enrolling in and after academic year 2021.

The school clothing industry has faced drastic change in recent years, such as the rise in demand for services accommodating busy working parents and school personnel, as well as a labor shortage in the supply chain and the problem of business succession. Most recently, the teaching environment in schools has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Given this, ITOCHU will launch the School Life e-commerce platform specializing in school clothes as part of its innovative initiatives in the textile business, aiming to take steps towards the digitalization of distribution in the school uniform industry.

The new School Life e-commerce platform features order fulfillment functionality, such as order intake and placement, cash collection and logistics solutions, and making it possible to deliver ordered products directly to customers via the internet, no matter when and where you place your order. The new platform includes the VIRTUSIZE online fitting service, allowing customers to place an order after choosing the correct size at home. Use of School Life will eliminate the need for students and their parents to go to a uniform measurement session. This is expected to reduce the workload of uniform suppliers and school personnel, as well as helping to avoid The Three Cs when being measured.

ITOCHU will start operating the School Life e-commerce platform in August 2020, offering school-designated uniforms and learning equipment to new students enrolling in the 2021 school year. We aim to achieve 5 billion yen in distribution turnover in three years, while leveraging ITOCHU’s business networks in the areas of bags, shoes, T-shirts and stockings to expand business dealing to other items necessary in school life.

URL: https://gakko-seikatsu.jp/