[Glamour Princess Hero Interview] "There Are No Bras That Fit My Daughter" — How One Employee's Heartfelt Plea Became the Starting Point for an OEM Manufacturer's Mission to Create for Those Who Struggle

Many people may associate plus-size bras with limited design options and a narrow selection. Glamour Princess, a brand dedicated to plus-size lingerie, is challenging that perception by delivering a wide range of sizes and designs that spark joy — along with the message: "You don't have to give up on fashion."

The brand is operated by Izumi Co., Ltd., a lingerie manufacturer with over 60 years of history. The company has long focused on OEM/ODM (Original Equipment Manufacturing/Design Manufacturing) as its core business. So why is it now taking on the risk of holding inventory with its own brand to enter this market?

Behind it all is a passionate commitment to craftsmanship sparked by one employee's deeply personal struggle — and a moving story of connection with customers. We sat down with President Sato to hear about how the brand was born, the partnership with StoreHero, and the vision for the future.

[Interviewee]

• Daisuke Sato, Representative Director & President, Izumi Co., Ltd.
• (Interviewer: Kurose, Representative Director & CEO, StoreHero Inc.)

"My Daughter Can't Find a Bra" — How One Employee's Words Started Everything

Kurose: Thank you for joining us today. To start, could you tell us about your business and the background behind launching Glamour Princess, your plus-size lingerie brand?

Sato: Our company has been in the lingerie business for 64 years. Since coming under our current parent company in 2002, we've focused exclusively on OEM/ODM — manufacturing and developing products for other brands — which allowed us to operate without holding inventory.

The spark that led to Glamour Princess came from something said during an internal meeting. One of our pattern makers mentioned, "My middle school daughter can't find a bra." When we heard more, we learned that her daughter was plus-size and that the market had almost nothing in the way of cute or appealing designs, even for a first bra. The only options available were what you might call "frumpy" styles. She said with deep emotion, "As a mother who works at a lingerie company, should I really let my daughter go through this?"

Kurose: That's a deeply personal struggle...

Sato: Honestly, at first I wasn't fully convinced. But when we actually did market research, we found she was right — there really was nothing. We knew we had to do something. At the same time, I had been overseeing the plus-size lingerie section at a major apparel chain, and those products were selling remarkably well. I had a strong sense that "if 4L sells, there must be demand for 5L and 6L too." But that major apparel chain had constraints around affordable pricing. That's exactly why I believed that if we made something with a greater focus on quality and design, we could genuinely delight the people out there who were "giving up on what they want to wear."

Our parent company's business model is built on inventory-free OEM. But I didn't want people who were being denied choices simply because of their body size to keep feeling like "this is the only option I have." That feeling drove me to take the risk and launch this brand.

If No One Else Will Do It, We Will: A ¥2 Million Custom Body Form and the Challenge of Creating "Ordinary" Options

Kurose: Were there technical challenges in creating bras for larger sizes?

Sato: Absolutely — it was completely different. Unlike standard lingerie development, we had to create entirely new master patterns based on larger sizes, such as an 85cm E-cup. The biggest challenge was finding monitors to test the fit. So we ordered custom body forms (mannequins) in 3L and 6L sizes at a cost of ¥2 million each. If we were going to call ourselves a specialist brand, we felt we needed to go that far to have credible evidence behind our products.

Kurose: ¥2 million! That speaks volumes about your commitment to quality craftsmanship. And your vision went beyond just size, didn't it?

Sato: Exactly. What we wanted to offer was "the ordinary freedom to enjoy fashion." When night bras became trendy during the pandemic, plus-size customers could only wonder what they were like — and that was the end of it. So we made one. The same goes for the detachable-strap T-shirt bra (half-cup bra). People told us, "Now I can finally wear a transparent strap too!" — and they were genuinely delighted.

One memory that especially stayed with me was from a pop-up store at a commercial facility in Osaka. Many plus-size shoppers, due to their insecurities, aren't always able to shop comfortably in regular stores. But at our pop-up, everything was in larger sizes and all the customers were plus-size. At one point, a mother came to us with tears in her eyes and said, "This is the first time I've ever seen my daughter look so happy while shopping." When I heard that, it truly moved us.

Co-Creating with Customers: Building a Passionate Fan Community

Kurose: I can see that you place tremendous value on your connection with customers. You've also been actively building an ambassador program.

Sato: Yes. We currently have close to 20 ambassadors, and their presence is essential to the brand's growth. Some of them started with a few thousand followers and have grown to tens of thousands, establishing themselves as influencers through their involvement with us.

It goes well beyond simple PR. We host professional photo shoots to keep them inspired, hold roundtable discussions where they share their concerns, and run internal surveys among ambassadors on new product designs to incorporate their feedback. It's a genuine co-creation process built on deep communication. Their authentic voices and vibrant presence resonate with customers who share the same struggles, and that's what builds trust in the brand.

The Challenges of Running an E-Commerce Business and Our Partnership

Kurose: When launching your e-commerce site, what led you to choose Shopify and StoreHero as your partner, among all the options available?

Sato: We had an e-commerce site before, but we kept running into issues and ended up redesigning it and switching cart systems about three times. This time around, since we had future overseas sales in mind, Shopify was an appealing choice. As we searched for a partner, I learned that StoreHero had grown through a marketing-first approach, and that's what convinced me we could trust you.

Kurose: Thank you. As we began working together, we felt that while your extensive size range is a true strength, inventory management is a significant challenge.

Sato: You're absolutely right — there are always sizes that end up sitting unsold. Going forward, we're planning to use customer purchase data to strategically separate "core perennial styles" from "seasonal items" and manage inventory accordingly.

Kurose: That strategy pairs very well with advertising as well. For ads that rely on machine learning, we could concentrate them on the stable core items to build up training data, while using limited-edition pieces as a catalyst on social media to fuel excitement among fans. There's a lot of room to weave this into a broader growth strategy, and we'd love to support you through that.

Kurose: When it comes to building long-term relationships with customers, I think loyalty programs could play an important role. Are there any current challenges in that area?

Sato: Honestly, I don't think tweaking coupon discount rates will significantly change how often customers buy. Rather than that, I believe customers would be far happier if we gave back through "special experiences" — like the fitting event invitation (with travel expenses covered) we held to celebrate an Instagram follower milestone — rather than monetary rewards.

Kurose: Absolutely. The "diagnostic content" we proposed earlier has been gathering valuable data on each customer's individual concerns. By leveraging this, we could invite our highest-engagement customers to product planning sessions and offer them exclusive experiences — which has the potential to build an even stronger fan community. I'd love for us to create those kinds of high-impact, buzz-worthy initiatives together.

Overcoming Headwinds, Toward the Dream of a Physical Store

Kurose: Finally, what is your vision for the brand going forward?

Sato: My biggest dream is to open a physical store. In fact, there have been multiple times along the way when the question of "when are you shutting this down?" came up. But we kept going without giving up, and now we're finally at the point where ZOZOTOWN and our official site combined are showing a path to profitability.

The next step is still a physical store. I feel that surviving on e-commerce alone is a challenge. If we opened a store somewhere like Akihabara, we might be able to reach inbound tourists as well. A physical location could become a hub for generating buzz, which would in turn drive e-commerce sales. When there's something I won't know until I try it, I want to try it. There have been headwinds, but we'll keep pushing forward.

Kurose: What an inspiring story. I'm truly moved by your determination to grow this brand. We are fully committed to supporting you as you take on this new challenge of opening a store — and as Glamour Princess continues to reach new heights. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us today.