- Clover
Founding Story - About
Clover's Logo
Clover Founding Story
The store when it was founded in 1925
In 1912, Clover's founder Toshio Okada left his home of Toyobe, Matsuisho Village, Taka County, Hyogo Prefecture (now Kami Ward, Taka Town) and dived into the world of business in Osaka. While working for a wholesaler of sewing tools, Toshio Okada vowed to pursue this opportunity to survive in the industry of sewing needles and become the best in Japan. In 1925, he founded Okada Keishichi Shoten at the young age of 28 on Andoji-bashi Street in Minami Ward, Osaka City (now Chuo Ward, Osaka City). As a man of action, Toshio Okada travelled not only in the Kansai region but all over Japan, from Hokkaido in the north to Kyushu in the south, and his clientele expanded gradually. Amid the time of turmoil, however, the Pacific War broke out, and the flames of war spread to the Osaka area, finally destroying his hard-earned shop.
Even in the postwar era, when goods were in short supply and many inferior products were being sold, he never gave up his vow to be number one in Japan, and resumed his business. It was then that Toshio Okada decided to become a manufacturer, rather than just a wholesaler, to produce unparalleled high-quality products. In 1946, he built a factory in Higashinari Ward, Osaka City, where Clover's head office is located today, and began manufacturing lacing needles. The company's journey to be the best sewing needle manufacturer started in 1947 when it released a line of Western-style needles named Sokyu Meriken-bari (American needle) during the clothes-making boom in the postwar era. For the line of Japanese-style needles, the company released Kin-mimi-bari (needle with a gold-plated hole) in 1952. The unique design of the gold-plated needle holes, which allows for softer contact with the thread, gained major popularity, helping the company to achieve its goal of becoming the top sewing needle manufacturer in Japan.
After that, the company was reorganised and renamed to Okada Keishichi Shoten Co., Ltd. in March 1947, and renamed to Clover Saihougu Co., Ltd. in 1958, and then finally renamed to Clover Mfg. Co., Ltd. in 1964, entering a period of further growth.