MonotaRO Co., Ltd., is a Japanese e-commerce company of industrial supply products based in Osaka, Japan. The company was named to Forbes Asia "Best Under A Billion" list in 2013.
Overview MonotaRO sells Maintenance, repair, and operations products through internet and catalogs, targeting small and mid-sized manufacturing companies. MonotaRO sells various product categories such as personal protective equipment, hand tools, fasteners, and lab supplies. It has more than 1 million customers in Japan.
The company name MonotaRO is an acronym for Maintenance, Repair & Operations. It also means to have sufficient number of products in Japanese. It is also a play on the name of the Japanese hero Momotaro.
Global expansion In 2013, MonotaRO began web-based sales in Singapore. In 2014 web-based sales expanded to Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia. Now they ship to following countries (countries names are arranged alphabetically).
History 2000 - Sumitomo and W. W. Grainger, Inc. founded a company as joint venture in Japan 2001 - Website launch, which began and nationwide sales 2004 - Start selling private label (MonotaRO, Otokomae-MonotaRO, and Osaka-Spirit) 2006 - Launch IHC MonotaRO, targeting private use customers 2006 - Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange 2009 - W. W. Grainger, Inc. acquired a majority ownership of the company 2013 - Started service in Singapore 2014 - Started service in Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia
References
External links MonotaRO IHC.MonotaRO MonotaRO Indonesia MonotaRO Singapore MonotaRO Malaysia