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Tokushimaru

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tokushimaru
Native name
株式会社とくし丸
TypeKabushiki gaisha
Industrymobile retailer
FoundedJanuary 11, 2012; 14 years ago (2012-01-11)
FounderTatsuya Sumitomo
HeadquartersMinamiuchi-machi, Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan
Area served
Japan
Key people
Representative director chair Kōhei Takashima
Representative director president Ayumi Shingu
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Tokushimaru (Japanese: とくし丸) is a Japanese mobile retailer owned by Oisix ra daichi [ja]. The company's convoys purchase goods from local supermarkets and deliver them to customers' houses in their modified trucks to help those who struggle with buying daily groceries. Tokushimaru serve every prefecture of Japan, and a thousand convoys are in service. Tokushimaru also established a magazine, Gu~Su~Gekkan Tokushimaru (ぐ〜す〜月刊とくし丸), targeting the elderly. The company also collaborates with local governments to promote their policy and offer rural community services.

History

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A Suzuki Carry truck owned by Tokushimaru stopped at the front of Ito-Yokado (イトーヨーカドー)
A Tokushimaru truck stopped at a Ito-Yokado

In Japan, shopping refugees [ja] are people who have a problem buying daily groceries, often because of supermarket shortage in rural areas, or they are too old to drive.

Tokushimaru was established on 11 January 2012 by Tatsuya Sumitomo (住友達也), who also established a local publishing company called Awawa Corporation [ja].[1] During a visit to his mother in a rural area, Sumitomo noticed her neighbour's unusual shopping behaviour when they took her for a drive. He discovered the situation of shopping refugees after interviewing them, and had the idea of founding a mobile supermarket to serve them at the time.[2] The name Tokushimaru comes from two meanings: One is a reference to the founding city, Tokushima; the other is the pronunciation of Tokushi (篤志, "charity; benevolence").[3]

The price of Tokushimaru is usually the price of supermarkets in Japan plus 10~20 Yen, depending on supermarkets they collbrate with. It is known as the "Plus 10 Yen rule" (+10円ルール).[4][5][6] Tokushimaru sells about 400 types of groceries, including fresh foods. In addition, Tokushimaru described themselves as "local watching squad" (地域の「見守り隊」).[6][7]

Initially, Tokushimaru mainly served rural regions. But when elderly drivers gave back their driver's licence, they found it difficult to buy daily groceries since more and more shopping districts have been closed. Seeing the problem of shopping refugees starting to grow in cities, Tokushimaru start expanding its service into urban areas such as Shinjuku or Shinagawa in Tokyo.[8][9] In 2020, Tokushimaru started opearting in Okinawa with Ryubo Store [ja]. At the time, Tokushimaru was operating every prefecture of Japan.[10][11]

In May 2016, Oisix, now Oisix ra daichi [ja], acquired Tokushimaru.[12] There were 300 convoys in April 2018.[13] There were 500 convoys on 30 April 2020, when they announced collaborating with Ito-Yokado. In February 2023, there were 100 convoys specifically collaborating with Ito-Yokado.[14][15] In May 2022, there are 1,000 convoys and had become the first mobile retailer who reached the number.[16] In 2021, its annual sales will exceed 20 billion yen[17]

Tokushimaru established a bimonthly magazine called Gu~Su~Gekkan Tokushimaru (ぐ〜す〜月刊とくし丸) in August 2023, after noticing that its customers have reached 180,000, and the main consumers are women aged 70–80. There are 40,000 copies in the first issue. The main content was related information that the elderly were interested in, including health information, celebrity columns, and reader contributions.[6][18]

Features

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A Tokushimaru truck is entering a disaster-stricken area during the 2024 Noto earthquake

Modified by light trucks, each Tokushimaru truck stocked with approximately 400 types of groceries, totalling 1,200–1,500 items. The truck visits the community twice a week, delivering groceries directly to consumers.[19][20][6] They also cooperate with local social services such as Social Welfare Council [ja], Community General Support Centre [ja], Care Manager [ja], and Welfare commissioner [ja]. Truck conveys will visit customers during deliveries to check any unusual situations at an earlier stage.[21]

Tokushimaru also cooperate with local governments to promote their policy, such as enlightening hyperthermia with the Ministry of the Environment,[22] and preparion of potential earthquakes with the government of Shinjuku.[23] During the 2024 Noto earthquake, Tokushimaru sent rescuing groceries from Albis (store) to customers in shelters in disaster-stricken areas.[24][25]

Groceries from Tokushimaru trucks come from local supermarkets. Aside from providing groceries, local supermarkets also help Tokushimaru receive the remaining fresh foods and calculate accounts.[6] They have cooperated with over a hundred local supermarkets in Japan as of September 2018.[26] The number increased to 140 as of 2021,[27] and over two hundred in 2025. Most "local supermarkets" are local enterprises, but sometimes major supermarket chains such as Ito-Yokado and A-Coop [ja] may also be a cooperator.[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ 第二創業日記 – 移動スーパーとくし丸 (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025. 2012年1月11日、会社を創業する。
  2. ↑ 買い物難民を救え　「流通の素人」が発明した画期的移動スーパー (in Japanese). PROJECT DESIGN. October 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  3. ↑ 関西スーパーの “移動スーパー”「とくし丸」事業　5年で23号快走中！. www.h2o-retailing.co.jp (in Japanese). エイチ・ツー・オー リテイリング株式会社. Retrieved 25 November 2025. 創業地である「徳島」と、社会事業や公共の福祉に貢献する「篤志」の意味が込められているそうです。
  4. ↑ "Q&A" (in Japanese). 移動スーパー『とくし丸』. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  5. ↑ Neo Liu (10 July 2025). "日本「德島丸」，年營收逾200億日圓，能救900萬購物難民？". BusinessFocus (in Chinese). PressLogic Limited. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 商社男 (15 July 2025). "一台小貨車，拯救 900 萬購物難民！日本「移動超市」德島丸，如何寫下百億營收奇蹟？". 經理人月刊 (in Chinese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  7. ↑ とくし丸って？ (in Japanese). 移動スーパー『とくし丸』. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  8. ↑ 親子スクール (30 September 2023). 移動販売車、都会でも増加 免許返納の買い物難民に救い. 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  9. ↑ 杉山俊幸. 移動スーパー、"買いもの弱者"救って快走の裏事情 ｜法人のお客さま｜NTT東日本. NTT東日本 法人のお客さま (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  10. ↑ 琉球新報社 (18 May 2020). リウボウストア県内で移動スーパー事業 とくし丸と提携、８月以降稼働. 琉球新報デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  11. ↑ 移動スーパー「見て触って選べる魅力」 沖縄・糸満市や豊見城市で400品目届ける リウボウストア、出発式. 沖縄タイムス＋プラス (in Japanese). 5 December 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  12. ↑ オイシックス、とくし丸を買収　移動スーパーを強化 (in Japanese). 日本経済新聞社. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  13. ↑ 買い物難民支援の移動スーパー「とくし丸」、稼働台数が300台を突破. 財経新聞 (in Japanese). 25 April 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  14. ↑ 早織, 伊藤 (10 April 2020). 移動スーパーとくし丸 稼働台数が500台を突破. デパートニューズウェブ - 株式会社 ストアーズ社. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  15. ↑ 株式会社ロジスティクス・パートナー. イトーヨーカドー／移動スーパー「とくし丸」100台突破. 流通ニュース. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  16. ↑ 移動販売車「とくし丸」1000台突破 業界初. 徳島新聞デジタル (in Japanese). 25 November 2025. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  17. ↑ 移動スーパー・とくし丸が描く「増えるシニアを幸せにする未来」. Japan Innovation Review (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  18. ↑ 買い物難民を支援する「移動スーパーとくし丸」シニア向け雑誌「ぐ〜す〜月刊とくし丸」を8月に新創刊！. プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES (in Japanese). 25 July 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  19. ↑ とくし丸って? (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  20. ↑ 移動スーパー「とくし丸」 (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  21. ↑ 見守り活動│移動スーパー「とくし丸」│いつも生活応援!!天満屋ハピータウン. www.tenmaya-store.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  22. ↑ 環境省. 環境省熱中症予防情報サイト 民間事業者との取組. www.wbgt.env.go.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  23. ↑ 阪神・淡路大震災の発生日に合わせ防災啓発活動を令和6年1月15日に実施迅速な避難や移動が困難な高齢者を対象に移動スーパー「とくし丸」が防災パンフレットを新宿区で配布. オイシックス・ラ・大地株式会社コーポレートサイト. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  24. ↑ 災害時の物資供給へ アルビスと協定締結 舟橋村：北陸中日新聞Web. 中日新聞Web (in Japanese).
  25. ↑ 移動スーパーのとくし丸、能登半島地震の被災地で救援物資を配布. 財経新聞 (in Japanese). 10 January 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
  26. ↑ とくし丸の移動販売 契約小売店100社に. 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). 15 September 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  27. ↑ 移動スーパー「とくし丸」を古市店で1月27日（水）運行開始!. www.atpress.ne.jp (in Japanese). 20 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  28. ↑ 全国のとくし丸 – 移動スーパーとくし丸 (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 February 2024.

Further reading

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