Launched innovation in the travel booking experience by complementing video processing and location information processing technologies. Accelerating the realization of our vision of “Redesign travel around the world to be more accessible with the power of technology”.
KabuK Style, a Travel Fintech company that operates “HafH” a travel subscription service that allows customers to stay at accommodations around the world for a fixed monthly fee, today announced that KabuK Style has acquired all of the shares of ONE NATION Co., Ltd. (ONE NATION), and ONE NATION has become a member of the KabuK Style group. This acquisition is KabuK Style’s fifth acquisition since its establishment, and as a leading start-up company in the travel industry, KabuK Style will continue to lead the market by pursuing not only growth through its own developed services but also discontinuous growth through acquisitions. KabuK Style is a leading startup in the travel industry from Japan.
ONE NATION has developed and provided “Remly”, a travel-specific video social media service that has steadily increased its user base since its release in October 2021 and has now grown to over 60,000 users.
〈Background and Aims of the Acquisition〉
KabuK Style aims to realize its vision of “Redesign travel around the world to be more accessible with the power of technology” by achieving not only steady growth through its existing HafH business but also discontinuous growth through the development of new services, including the acquisition. KabuK Style’s objectives with this acquisition are threefold
1. Acquisition of video processing technology and operational know-how.
2. Acquisition of location information processing technology and operational know-how.
3. Acquisition of social media management know-how.
〈Video Social Media Opportunities in the Travel Market〉
People’s consumer decision-making is changing at a rapid pace, moving past text and photos to video viewing, and KabuK Style Group has long been aware of the potential of video social media as a major consumer decision-making channel in the travel market and has been oriented toward the medium. oriented. This acquisition complements that objective.
〈KabuK Style aims to further expand the travel market〉
KabuK Style’s vision is “to use the power of technology to redesign travel around the world to make it more accessible,” and we are confident that the innovative products we offer will further expand the travel market.
KabuK Style aims to expand the travel market in the following two directions.
1. Market expansion by the segment of people who are interested in travel.
We aim to expand the market by increasing the frequency of travel by the segment of the people interested in travel. We have received many comments from users of HafH, a subscription-based business model, that they are now traveling more. Based on this customer feedback and the high retention rate that has remained unchanged since the launch of the service, we are confident that this business model will contribute to the expansion of the travel market.
2. Market expansion by the segment of people who are not interested in travel.
We aim to expand the market by approaching the latent needs of the segment of people who are not interested in travel, stimulating demand, and increasing the number of people who go to travel. The term “uninterested in travel” does not mean that all people are completely uninterested in travel, as there are various reasons behind this. There are people who have given up on travel due to the daily fluctuation of hotel and airline ticket prices, and there are people who are more anxious about going to a strange place than having fun and are unable to take the first step forward.
KabuK Style Group has focused on solving the former issue, and we believe that Remly, the latest addition to our lineup, will help solve the latter. We believe that the synergy between the two will make Remly a key service in KabuK Style Group’s approach to solving the problems of those who are not interested in travel.
〈Overview of ONE NATION Co., Ltd.〉
ONE NATION is a Fukuoka-based startup company in the travel tech space. The company was founded by Mr. Manabe, a dentist, and initially developed medical-related systems, including the release of the medical communication application “ORCON.
Then, in September 2019, we released Story Writer, a short movie app centered on travel, which was the predecessor to Remly. Leveraging these technologies, know-how, and experience, Remly was released in October 2021 and has grown into a service used by over 60,000 users.
Name: ONE NATION Co., Ltd.
Address: 4-3-20-101 Nishi-Shin, Sagara-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture
Established: December 20, 2017
Representative Director: Tomohiro Manabe
〈Comments from KJ Sunada, CEO of KabuK Style Inc.〉
We are very pleased that ONE NATION, led by Mr. Manabe, who shares our passion for the travel market, has joined KabuK Style Group, and that Remly, which has great potential, has become part of our product lineup.
Remly is an application that allows users to explore information about travel destinations and outings while enjoying videos. By further evolving the conventional services that only provide location information and video information, Remly has the potential to transform travel into a more enjoyable and fulfilling experience.
Traveling is a wonderful and life-enriching experience. However, it is said that only about half of the people in Japan make more than one sightseeing trip a year. Our challenge is to redesign travel around the world to make it more accessible. Our challenge is to redesign travel around the world to make it more accessible, to integrate travel into people’s lifestyles, and to create a world where anyone can travel on the spur of the moment. We are building the infrastructure to achieve this.
Since its launch in 2019, KabuK Style’s flagship service, HafH, has grown to over 70,000 users thanks to all stakeholders and the many challenges our crews have faced. We will continue to evolve HafH and leverage KabuK Style Group’s strengths in technology and direct access to lodging and airline inventory to become a leading player in the travel industry.
〈Comments from Tomohiro Manabe, CEO of ONE NATION, Inc.〉
We are delighted to be working with KabuK Style as we share the vision.
There are many cases in the world where attractive tourism resources are buried due to lack of recognition.
We hope that our media can shine a spotlight on these areas and that this will lead to greater satisfaction for travelers.
■ About HafH
HafH (Home away from Home) is a “Travel Subscription” service that allows guests to stay overnight using “HafH Coins” earned through the service. The service offers a new style of travel, not only for sightseeing and business trips, but also for “living”, “working”, and “changing one’s mind”.
As of the end of August 2023, approximately 2,000 accommodations in Japan and abroad are available at fixed rates.
https://www.hafh.com
■ About KabuK Style
Company name: KabuK Style Co.
Representative: Kenji Sunada, CEO and Founder
Establishment: January 8, 2019 (Established February 5, 2018) April 1, 2019 Service launch
Capital: 2,437 million yen (as of March 2023, total amount of capital raised)
Business: Operation of travel subscription “HafH,” lodging and rental operations, travel agency
URL: https://kabuk.com