MATSUSHIRO CO., LTD.

	President name		Mikio Matsushiro
	Address		1-10-8 Sumida, Higashiosaka-city, Osaka, 578-0912, Japan
	TEL		+81-72-962-1431
	FAX		+81-72-963-0128
	Foundation		1949
	Capital		48,600,000 yen
	Number of employees		50
	Company URL		http://www.m-elitebag.co.jp (Japanese only)
	Major lines of business		Elite mark paper bags, bags and pouches, miscellaneous fashion goods, Loop Change Loop
	Top market share products		Paper bags (50%)

Manufacturing a wide variety of paper bags backed by outstanding product planning power

Matsushiro Co., Ltd. is Japan’s largest maker of paper bags for sale at kiosks and convenience stores, etc., with a 50% share of this market, which has a total value of 5 billion.

Matsushiro first commercialized its concept of paper bags for sales-use in 1959 taking a hint from the beautiful US-made wrapping paper of the time. In keeping with the philosophy of its former president that “if we emphasize design and durability the products will sell well,” the company covered its paper bags with transparent vinyl. In this way, it succeeded in adding to the bags’ strength while at the same time creating a stylish image for what had up to that time been considered as merely a disposable consumer item.

At present, Matsushiro manufactures approximately 130 types of sales-use paper bags on a design-classified basis. Among these designs are several “long-sellers” that have been on continuous sale for as long as 13 years since their initial launch, but the company changes about 70% of the designs every year. This high rate of design turnover gives an indication of the level of Matsushiro’s product planning power. Recently, the company developed a triangle-based paper bag and a pocket-attached paper bag. These novel products were born out of an attitude of always pursuing new ideas that stems from having four people exclusively in charge of planning and maintaining contracts with approximately 50 design companies. Moreover, such innovation is a result of putting into practice the company’s motto of “making paper bags not merely as handy bags but as fashion items too.”

Matsushiro uses higher quality paper than most other manufacturers and currently employs 100% recycled paper for about 50% of its production volume. In addition, as a manufacturer committed to solving environmental problems, the company tied up with a resin maker to jointly develop a polypropylene (NIPP) as a substitute bag-covering material in place of vinyl chloride, which generates harmful gases when incinerated.

Recently Matsushiro has established a new department to take orders for the company’s original paper bags. By making use of the planning expertise it has accumulated up to now, the company is focusing on manufacturing paper bags that improve the public image of the retailers and other corporate clients who order them. In addition, Matsushiro has entered the fashion articles field with its Loop Change Loop brand name.