Material Bank, the world’s largest marketplace for searching, sampling, and specifying architecture, design and construction materials, announced plans to launch in Japan in 2022. This will mark Material Bank’s first international rollout outside of North America.
The multi-billion-dollar design industry is one of the last to be digitally transformed and, after the platform’s explosive growth in the United States, there has been tremendous demand to export Material Bank globally. Material Bank’s powerful database, combined with its propriety robotic distribution facility, allows its almost 90,000 members to search materials from more than 450 brands all on a single site and order samples until midnight to be delivered free of charge anywhere in the country, in one box, the next morning. Much like in the United States, Material Bank Japan will significantly improve the sustainability of the design industry by reducing the number of inbound packages to firms and designers.
With $157 million in venture funding secured since its 2019 launch, Material Bank is investing heavily in building out its tools and services, strategic acquisitions, and extending its global footprint. “I am thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of Material Bank Japan and this milestone moment. Material Bank has helped every major firm in the U.S. gain huge efficiencies and we are excited to bring this revolutionary platform to Japan," said Material Bank founder and CEO, Adam Sandow. "We are committed to making a sizable investment to drive sustainability and ease in the design process in Asia and are looking forward to sharing many more exciting announcements about Material Bank in the days ahead.”
The expansion into Japan will be supported by a team of key executives led by Go Nakazawa, who has been appointed CEO of Material Bank Japan. With 18 years of leadership experience, Nakazawa has led digital transformation and held management positions at several venture companies. Prior to joining Material Bank Japan, Nakazawa served at NTT DATA Corporation as Systems Engineer and as Corporate Strategist for Masayoshi Son at SoftBank Group. Bringing a passion for innovation, coupled with extraordinary capabilities to build highly successful teams backed by a systems and engineering background, Nakazawa is well-positioned to take the helm of Material Bank Japan.
Together with Nakazawa, Sandow will lead the strategic direction of Material Bank Japan. “There is a strong appetite for efficiency and sustainability in Japan’s architecture and design industry,” said Nakazawa. “Material Bank has had a massive positive effect on the environmental impact of the sampling process in North America and I am excited and honored to have the tremendous opportunity to introduce Material Bank to this market and deliver on its long-term growth plan.”
For more information, visit materialbank.com.
