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| Big Fashion Play: yutori Buys Remaining Stake in Heart Relation as Kojima Haruna Secures Billion-Yen Deal. (Credits: ORICON) |
Kojima Haruna has officially signed off on her biggest business chapter yet, selling her entire stake in Heart Relation and handing full control to fashion firm yutori in a deal that leaves little room for half-measures.
The former AKB48 face, now firmly positioned as a fashion entrepreneur, exits with a tidy ¥1.82 billion (USD 12 million) from her personal shares alone, while the total transaction clocks in at roughly ¥1.96 billion. Not bad for someone who once sold idol dreams; now she’s selling equity.
The agreement, approved and signed on 13 April 2026, sets up Heart Relation to become a wholly owned subsidiary of yutori by 30 April.
This was less a surprise takeover and more a final step in a relationship already underway, with yutori having secured a 51 per cent stake back in August 2024.
The remaining 49 per cent, held by five individual shareholders including Kojima Haruna, is now fully absorbed. Clean, decisive, and very on-brand for a company chasing scale.
Heart Relation is no small player dressed up as one. It operates fashion and beauty labels including Her lip to, Her lip to BEAUTY, and ROSIER by Her lip to, all of which have carved out a loyal following with a social-media-savvy edge.
yutori, founded in 2018 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market in late 2023, has built its reputation on exactly that kind of digital-first fashion momentum. In short, this is synergy with a capital S, not just a corporate buzzword thrown into a press release.
The numbers tell their own story. Of the total deal value, roughly ¥1.82 billion lands with Kojima Haruna, reflecting her 45.5 per cent stake.
Payment comes in a mix of cash and newly issued yutori shares, with more than 53,000 shares allocated to her via a third-party allotment.
Translation: she’s stepping out, but not entirely stepping away. The move keeps her financially tied to yutori’s future, which is either a clever hedge or a sign she still believes in the machine she helped build.
yutori has been clear about its reasoning, and refreshingly so. Heart Relation has shown steady growth, reliable profits, and enough upside to justify full ownership.
By bringing the company fully in-house, yutori expects faster decision-making, tighter operational control, and a more direct boost to shareholder value. In corporate speak, that means fewer meetings, more action, and hopefully more money.
For Kojima Haruna, this marks a sharp, calculated pivot rather than a quiet exit. She’s not disappearing from the business landscape; she’s repositioning herself.
Moving from founder-operator to shareholder in a larger listed entity suggests a shift towards influence without day-to-day grind. It’s the kind of transition many entrepreneurs aim for but rarely execute this cleanly.
Online reactions, meanwhile, are split in the way only fashion-meets-idol news can manage. Some fans are celebrating the move as proof that Kojima Haruna has fully cracked the code of post-idol success, turning personal branding into serious capital.
Others are a bit more sentimental, questioning whether Her lip to will feel the same without her at the helm, even if she remains connected through shareholding.
A few sceptics, inevitably, are side-eyeing the timing and wondering whether this is peak valuation territory. Either way, people are talking, which is half the point.
What’s clear is that this deal underlines a broader shift in Japan’s fashion industry, where influencer-led brands are no longer side projects but acquisition targets with real financial weight. And Kojima Haruna just proved she knows exactly when to cash in and when to stay in the room.
Now the question is simple: is this the end of her founder era, or just the beginning of something bigger behind the scenes? Let’s hear it—smart exit or too soon?