Rocket Star Co., Ltd. Search fund Rocket Star concludes a searcher contract with Yasuto Kitakata, establishing North Star to support the growth of apparel companies

[Rocket Star Co., Ltd.] Search fund Rocket Star concludes a searcher contract with Yasuto Kitakata, establishing North Star to support the growth of apparel companies ​ Image
URL: Rocket Star Co., Ltd. Press release: March 12, 2025 Search fund Rocket Star concludes searcher contract with Yasuto Kitakata, establishes North Star to support the growth of apparel companies Rocket Star Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director, President and CEO: Takeshi Ogiwara, hereinafter referred to as “Rocket Star”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a searcher contract with Mr. Yasuto Kitakata. Mr. Kitakata established Northstar Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Yasuto Kitakata, hereinafter referred to as “Northstar”), with the aim of supporting the growth of apparel companies and succeeding the businesses of related companies. Background of conclusion of searcher contract Rocketstar has inherited a small and medium-sized company with growth ambitions and established a new company, Northstar, with the aim of increasing corporate value. Northstar will leverage Mr. Kitakata’s experience in growing WEGO, a vintage clothing store with annual sales of several hundred million yen, into an apparel SPA with sales of approximately 40 billion yen, to promote Rocketstar’s goal of business transformation and expansion (1 → 10 → 100), support the sustainable growth of companies, and contribute to further value creation. Mr. Kitakata started with no knowledge of the apparel industry, learned with the support of many people, and has the experience of growing a small-scale apparel business. In the process, I have learned and put into practice the importance of solving problems according to company size and growth phase. Utilizing this knowledge, we established Northstar to support and grow small and medium-sized enterprises, and aim to take over the business. By drawing out the latent strengths of small and
medium-sized enterprises, we aim to encourage sustainable growth of companies while improving the treatment of employees, and the development of more apparel small and medium-sized enterprises. Yasuto Kitakata, Searcher and President of North Star After 7 years of corporate sales experience at Resona Bank, he moved to WEGO, a used clothing store with annual sales in the hundreds of millions of yen. As vice president, he was in charge of all areas including business planning, sales, products, human resources, logistics, and accounting, and grew the company from several hundred million yen in annual sales to a SPA apparel company with annual sales of approximately 40 billion yen and over 200 stores. He left the company in 2017 due to a change in ownership, and in 2018 became the representative director and president of LESPORTSAC JAPAN, which develops a bag brand. We renewed our aging customer base, raised the EC composition ratio, and grew the company. [Message from Mr. Kitakata] By identifying a company’s strengths and making the most of them, we will support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises and contribute to their sustainable development.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/136739/13/136739-13-4ee5b97be33c052410cab29bda5582a6-1782×2131.png Thoughts behind the company name The idea is to create new value by combining Rocket Star, a fund with management experience in business companies and strengths in digital marketing, and Mr. Kitakata’s knowledge in the apparel industry, which has a high affinity with e-commerce. We will contribute to the development of the apparel industry by promoting an innovative approach that combines the digital and physical, and creating synergies that leverage the strengths of both. What is Rocketstar’s search fund? We think of search funds as an initiative in which searchers who aspire to become managers receive investment from investors rather than their own funds, inherit small and medium-sized enterprises that they are confident of growing, and aim to improve corporate value as managers. Search fund initiatives are attracting attention as a new career path that allows people to utilize their strengths for people who are better at transforming and expanding existing businesses (1 → 10 → 100) than at creating a business (0 → 1), which is required for starting a business. Image
URL: https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/136739/13/136739-13-c36613f98f97270bbffa0100fdf8d6b5-1064×660.png Rocket Star Co., Ltd. Company Profile We are a group of professionals specializing in small and medium-sized businesses that opens up the future with the power of management. Rocket Star is a company whose mission is to improve corporate value by improving the management of small and medium-sized enterprises, and contributing to the
development of the Japanese economy. Additionally, through search funds, we will create opportunities for new challenges such as M&A entrepreneurship and lay the foundation for a new era in which many entrepreneurs who will lead the future will be active. Company name: Rocket Star Co., Ltd. Origin of the company name: A desire to produce star companies like Shitamachi Rocket Head office location: 15th floor, Mita NN Building, 4-1-23 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0014 Representative Director, President and CEO: Takeshi Ogiwara
Established: 2023 February 13th (Daian & Tora Day) Business details: Search fund business, consulting business HP:
https://rocketstar.co.jp/