The wave of rising prices that has hit household budgets has also affected baseball equipment, which has always been on the rise. A bat subscription service started by a baseball equipment store in Kamagaya City, Chiba Prefecture, is attracting attention in an effort to reduce the financial burden that poses a hurdle to enjoying baseball. (Shohei Sakai)
Yuta Nakamura, who invented the bat subscription service in Kamagaya City, Chiba Prefecture.
◆Price increases due to development competition, as much as 50,000 yen per bottle
“Super Baseball Specialty Store CV” boasts one of the largest selections in the Kanto region. The store is lined with baseball equipment. Many of the bats lined up in the aisles cost over 20,000 yen each. When it comes to softball bats, once a highly repulsive material that makes the ball fly more easily is created, a competition in development among manufacturers begins, causing prices to rise. Popular products have increased in price by more than 10,000 yen over the past 10 years, with some bats costing more than 50,000 yen.
The store is lined with autographs from visiting professional baseball players. Rui Okoye, who plays for the Giants, has been a regular customer since high school in Kamagaya City, Chiba Prefecture.
Yuta Nakamura (37), president of the store’s operating company, once had a frustrating experience while serving customers. Parents and children came to the store and were looking at high-performance bats for softball, but the mother balked when she saw the price. The child’s pleas for him to buy something were in vain, and he left the store without making a purchase. “The bat suited the kid. I felt he could get even more results (if he used it).” Every time I saw a similar scene, the misgivings in my heart grew.
◆“I want to be active” I understood it painfully.
“We have to do something.” Mr. Nakamura, a former baseball player, could painfully understand the players’ desire to get better and play an active role. While I was thinking about it, I decided to start a bat subscription service based on a luxury bag subscription service I happened to know about.
There are 3 plans for monthly service.
▽2,750 yen (applies to used high-performance bats)
▽4,950 yen (new bat less than 30,000 yen)
▽6,600 yen (new bat over 30,000 yen)
If you find a bat you’re interested in, you can test it out on the field, and if you feel it doesn’t suit you, you can cancel your contract and try a different bat. If you like it, you can use it as is, and except for the 2,750 yen course, you can buy it when the total payment reaches the sales amount.
◆Because it’s expensive, you can buy tools that you can understand.
Since its launch in 2019, more than 1,700 people have used the service, mainly parents of elementary school students and baseball fans. Currently, about 260 people are currently under contract. There are also cases where players rent a bat only for the duration of a major tournament to avoid having to pay a large amount all at once, or they rent the same bat on short notice when the one they were using breaks.
Bat trial space set up inside the store = Kamagaya City, Chiba Prefecture
We have created a space in the store where you can try out bats and gloves, and we are working hard to help customers find the tools they are looking for, even though they are expensive. Nakamura said emphatically, “I think there are aspects of the economic burden that are hindering the growth of the baseball population.I hope that subscription services will help expand the base of baseball.”
