Econos Co., Ltd.

Econos Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company headquartered in Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, engaged in the reuse business, household goods sorting, resource circulation and 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) services, and carbon offset provider operations. The company name combines "eco" from ecology and economy with "nos" from "Northland" Hokkaido, reflecting its ambition to create new value from Hokkaido. Its corporate vision is to become a company that will be thanked by children 100 years from now. Econos operates as a franchisee of Hard Off Corporation and Book Off Corporation, running second-hand retail chains including Hard Off (reuse goods), Off House (clothing and household items), Hobby Off (hobbies and collectibles), Garage Off (outdoor and car goods), and Book Off (used books). It also runs the character business "Donguri Republic" (どんぐり共和国) stores, selling Studio Ghibli merchandise. In addition, the company provides carbon offset services and operates a subsidiary, Blue Dot Green Co., Ltd. (formerly MyClimate Japan), focused on climate protection. The company was founded in 1964 in Kitami, Hokkaido, as Kitami Cygnus Shoji Co., Ltd., initially selling Panasonic home appliances. It later became a franchisee of Sogo Denki, then shifted to the reuse business after Sogo Denki's bankruptcy in 2002. In 2005, it merged with System 96 Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Econos Co., Ltd. It listed on the Sapporo Securities Exchange Ambitious Market in 2015, and was delisted in 2025 after becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Hard Off Corporation. Econos has faced a scandal involving employee theft and fraudulent purchases at its Hard Off stores, with damages of approximately 32 million yen discovered in 2024. The company has since strengthened its internal controls. As of 2026, Econos operates numerous stores across Hokkaido and continues to expand its reuse and recycling businesses.

Econos Co., Ltd. was founded on March 21, 1964, in Kitami, Hokkaido, as Kitami Cygnus Shoji Co., Ltd. (北見シグナス商事株式会社), with capital of 1 million yen, for the purpose of selling Panasonic home appliances. In October 1978, it signed a franchise contract with Sogo Denki Co., Ltd. for home appliance sales, expanding within Kitami and into Abashiri and Bihoro. In December 1986, it established a delivery and repair center and an outside sales department. In April 1993, it signed a franchise contract with Book Off Corporation for used book purchasing and sales, opening Book Off Hokuto Store, the first Book Off in Hokkaido. In March 1996, System 96 Co., Ltd. (有限会社システム九六) was established to spin off the Book Off division from Onishi Shoji Co., Ltd., and the business transfer was completed in March 1997. In May 1998, the Nishino Store was transferred to Sogo Denki. In June 1999, both Kitami Cygnus Shoji and System 96 signed franchise contracts with Hard Off Corporation; in August, Hard Off Kitami Hakuyo Store (the first Hard Off in Hokkaido) and Off House Sapporo Hiraoka Store (the first Off House in Hokkaido) opened. In February 2002, Sogo Denki filed for civil rehabilitation, prompting Econos to withdraw from home appliance sales and convert its appliance stores to Hard Off and Off House formats. In March 2005, Kitami Cygnus Shoji and System 96 merged, changing the company name to Econos Co., Ltd. with capital of 50 million yen, operating 23 stores (11 Book Off, 6 Hard Off, 5 Off House, 1 Hobby Off). In June 2005, it expanded to Obihiro, and in November to Iwamizawa. In July 2006, it opened a combined Hard Off, Off House, Hobby Off, and Garage Off store in Asahikawa. In October 2006, it conducted a third-party allotment of shares, increasing capital to 140 million yen, and in November 2006 moved its headquarters to its current location. By October 2007, it operated 39 stores, including a Donguri Republic character store. In April 2008, it expanded to Takikawa and Eniwa, and began Hokkaido's first carbon offset provider business. In 2011, it established MyClimate Japan Co., Ltd. (now Blue Dot Green Co., Ltd.) as a consolidated subsidiary with 90% investment by Econos and 10% by MyClimate Climate Protection Foundation (Switzerland). On June 24, 2015, it listed on the Sapporo Securities Exchange Ambitious Market. In June 2024, an internal audit revealed inventory irregularities; a special committee investigated from May 17 to June 25, 2024, finding that a store manager at a Hard Off store operated by Econos had embezzled cash through internal theft, fictitious purchases, and zero-yen purchases since May 2021, causing damages of approximately 32 million yen. The manager disappeared on June 9, 2024, during the internal investigation. The investigation report was published on June 26, 2024, citing deficiencies in purchasing rules, weak checking systems, formalized confirmation work, inadequate inventory rules and checks, and insufficient management, internal audit, and compliance awareness. Around the same time, similar fraud occurred at Book Off, with damages of approximately 70 million yen discovered during temporary closures and inventory checks in late June to early July. On November 4, 2025, Econos was delisted following its acquisition as a wholly owned subsidiary of Hard Off Corporation.

• Founded in Kitami, Hokkaido as Kitami Cygnus Shoji Co., Ltd. with capital of 1 million yen to sell Panasonic home appliances.

• Signed franchise contract with Sogo Denki Co., Ltd. for home appliance sales.

• Signed franchise contract with Book Off Corporation; opened Book Off Hokuto Store, the first Book Off in Hokkaido.

• Established System 96 Co., Ltd. to spin off the Book Off division.

• Signed franchise contracts with Hard Off Corporation.

• Opened Hard Off Kitami Hakuyo Store (first Hard Off in Hokkaido) and Off House Sapporo Hiraoka Store (first Off House in Hokkaido).

• Withdrew from home appliance sales due to Sogo Denki's civil rehabilitation; converted stores to Hard Off and Off House formats.

• Merged Kitami Cygnus Shoji and System 96; changed name to Econos Co., Ltd. with capital of 50 million yen, operating 23 stores.

• Conducted third-party allotment of shares, increasing capital to 140 million yen.

• Moved headquarters to current location in Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo.

• Started operating the eco blog portal site "Econacoto".

• Opened Donguri Republic Sapporo Norubesa Store as character business.

• Started Hokkaido's first carbon offset provider business.

• Established MyClimate Japan Co., Ltd. (now Blue Dot Green Co., Ltd.) as a consolidated subsidiary with 90% investment by Econos and 10% by MyClimate Climate Protection Foundation (Switzerland).

• Listed on the Sapporo Securities Exchange Ambitious Market.

• Internal audit revealed employee fraud at Hard Off stores; damages of approximately 32 million yen; investigation report published on June 26.

• Delisted following acquisition as a wholly owned subsidiary of Hard Off Corporation.

A regional reuse and recycling enterprise in Hokkaido, operating franchise chains of major second-hand retailers and promoting ecological and economic balance.

• Hard Off franchise stores

  Reuse goods retail chain

• Off House franchise stores

  Used clothing and household items retail chain

• Hobby Off franchise stores

  Hobby items and collectibles retail chain

• Garage Off franchise stores

  Outdoor and car goods retail chain

• Book Off franchise stores

  Used books retail chain

• Donguri Republic stores

  Studio Ghibli merchandise stores

• Carbon offset services

  Carbon offset provider business

1. 1株式会社エコノス 公式サイトeco-nos.com
2. 2会社紹介│株式会社エコノスeco-nos.com
3. 3Econos - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4エコノス - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org