One zip to rule them all: After years of dominance, YKK now faces competition
But, its Chinese challenger, SBS — which has established itself as the go-to for affordably priced zippers to mass-market brands like Adidas — has further encroached on YKK’s top-tier turf in the last decade.
The zipper biz has slowly evolved from local brands to a dominant multinational YKK… and now the company has a target on its back.
SBS — founded in ’84 — leads the pack in output, patents, and export share (about 25%). Unlike the other companies, it also doesn’t mince words when it comes to its aspirations of dethroning YKK.
As unsexy as the zipper biz seems, the battle between the two powerhouses has become like the Red Sox and Yankees… of zippers.
With $10B in annual revenue and a 40% global market share, YKK is still ahead in the race, but, as the company struggles to match SBS’s output, the competition is bound to continue.
SBS, which has garnered attention for selling higher quality metal at more affordable prices, has started to imitate YKK’s core strategies of reach, integration (YKK controls every part of its manufacturing process), and innovation by assembling in-house R&D teams.
