mov acquires inbound-marketing firm D2C X to build end-to-end tourism support
What's the deal? Japanese startup mov has acquired all shares of D2C XDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an inbound promotion firm, making it a group company effective August 1, 2026. mov bought the stake from D2CDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, D2C X's former parent. Financial terms were not disclosed.
What do the companies do? mov, founded in September 2015 and based in Tokyo, runs inbound-focused products including the media outlet Honichi Lab, the store marketing platform Kuchikomi.com, and self-sampling platform trial JAPAN. D2C X handles multilingual promotion, the travel media site tsunagu Japan, cross-border e-commerce, and destination management (DMC) services for foreign visitors.
What's the endgame? mov wants to combine its market data, AI, and inbound products with D2C X's multilingual teams and execution capacity. The goal: cover everything from strategy to multilingual campaign rollout under one roof for municipalities, manufacturers, and retailers targeting inbound demand.
Why now? Spending by foreign visitors to Japan has grown past ¥9.5 trillion a year, adding demand across transport, lodging, food, retail, and manufacturing. mov argues that few players can support that market comprehensively, since inbound marketing needs different data and expertise than domestic campaigns.
What they're saying: "There does not seem to be a player established as the first port of call in inbound," said mov chief executive officer Makoto Watanabe, framing the deal as a bid to fill that gap.
What changes? D2C X chief executive officer Kyota Nakanishi stays on to lead the company. mov said it will pursue further investment and partnerships, including M&A, as part of expanding its inbound business.
The signal: The tie-up reflects consolidation in a rare growth market for Japan, where fragmented specialists are combining data and on-the-ground execution to serve businesses navigating a fast-expanding but complex inbound sector.
Read more: PR Times
Image credit: Yoshikazu TAKADA
