Japanese glove makers now have to rely on imports. Manufacturers have been forced to switch to domestic demand and move into new fields, such as the production of sports gloves for leisure and sporting such as golf, skiing, batting, driving and marine sports. Supermarkets and other major retail chain stores send materials overseas for production and import directly from the overseas makers, but their inability to select suitable goods due to a lack of experience in the glove business means that they face an uphill struggle in the marketplace. Manufacturers voluntarily take out product liability insurance, but many have introduced the use of detectors to check products and there have as yet been no problems. The only cases to arise have concerned the color from gloves made using leather tanned overseas coming off on skiwear.
Brand awareness is high, and famous foreign and domestic brands sell well.
One strategy for survival in the future is to create distinctive products by developing new brands and highly fashionable products with product patents and registered designs. Another way to survive is to produce sterile gloves, disposable gloves for work in nuclear power stations, ultra-thin sewn gloves and hats for use in semiconductor plants, and supple gloves made using microfibers.