Iris Ohyama, whose goods are ubiquitous in Japanese homes, has relied on its usual offbeat methods during the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S.-China trade tensions to ride the teleworking wave and bring production back from China.
Family-run, unlisted and based in the provincial city of Sendai, the quick-iterating manufacturer of everything from rice to rice cookers has become the most high-profile firm to sign up for government incentives to bring production back home.
With newly labelled "made in Japan" face masks flying off shelves alongside its other diverse products, such as office furniture and air conditioners, Iris Ohyama predicts annual revenues of ¥700 billion ($6.7 billion), compared with ¥500 billion a year earlier.
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