Key Takeaways
- • Yoshiki Nagata of enTorch Capital Partners told the Next Wave session at Sohn Tokyo 2026 that a Japanese hair care company has transformed from a broken value stock into a compounder following a 2019 scandal.
- • A single Ginza store attracted 325,000 visitors in its first eight months, with 65% of them coming from overseas, representing visitors from 158 countries.
- • The company has almost no stores outside Japan, which Nagata characterized as the core gap: "Demand has already crossed borders. Distribution has not."
- • Nagata has more than 30 years of experience in Japanese equities, previously managing portfolios at Nissay Asset Management, Daiwa SB Investments, Millennium Capital Management and Meiji Yasuda Asset Management before co-founding enTorch.
- • enTorch's funds won first-place industry awards for Japanese equity management in 2023 and 2024, and the firm uses long-only and hedge fund-like strategies focused on corporate governance improvements and activism.
Summary
Yoshiki Nagata of enTorch Capital Partners presented the case for a Japanese beauty company at the Next Wave session of Sohn Tokyo 2026, according to Hedge Fund Alpha. He argued that the hair care brand has moved from a broken value stock to a compounder after a 2019 scandal, and that the market has not yet recognized its next phase of growth.
The central data point Nagata cited is the performance of a single Ginza store, which drew 325,000 visitors in its first eight months of operation. Sixty-five percent of those visitors came from overseas, from 158 countries. Despite this international demand, the company operates almost no stores outside Japan, which is the basis for Nagata's thesis that distribution, rather than demand, is the constraint on growth.
Nagata opened his presentation by describing his personal investment in the company. He said his wife owned a bright beauty roller produced by the company, and after she declined to let him use it, he bought the company's stock instead. He has more than three decades of experience in Japanese equities, focusing on long-term value in micro, small and mid-cap stocks. Before co-founding enTorch, he ran Japanese equity portfolios at Nissay Asset Management, Daiwa SB Investments, Millennium Capital Management and Meiji Yasuda Asset Management.
enTorch employs long-only and hedge fund-like strategies in Japanese equities, with an emphasis on corporate governance improvements and shareholder activism. The firm's funds received first-place industry awards for Japanese equity management in 2023 and 2024. The source article is partially behind a login wall, so the full discussion of valuation and specific catalysts was not available for this summary.
The central data point Nagata cited is the performance of a single Ginza store, which drew 325,000 visitors in its first eight months of operation. Sixty-five percent of those visitors came from overseas, from 158 countries. Despite this international demand, the company operates almost no stores outside Japan, which is the basis for Nagata's thesis that distribution, rather than demand, is the constraint on growth.
Nagata opened his presentation by describing his personal investment in the company. He said his wife owned a bright beauty roller produced by the company, and after she declined to let him use it, he bought the company's stock instead. He has more than three decades of experience in Japanese equities, focusing on long-term value in micro, small and mid-cap stocks. Before co-founding enTorch, he ran Japanese equity portfolios at Nissay Asset Management, Daiwa SB Investments, Millennium Capital Management and Meiji Yasuda Asset Management.
enTorch employs long-only and hedge fund-like strategies in Japanese equities, with an emphasis on corporate governance improvements and shareholder activism. The firm's funds received first-place industry awards for Japanese equity management in 2023 and 2024. The source article is partially behind a login wall, so the full discussion of valuation and specific catalysts was not available for this summary.
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