Material Bank Announces Plans to Expand in Japan

Material Bank, a lifeline for designers looking to search for and receive samples from manufacturers overnight, today announced plans to expand into Japan. Marking the brand’s first hub outside of North America, Material Bank Japan will enable even more designers to access samples through its powerful platform and signature sustainable approach.

By connecting more than 90,000 members to over 450 brands, Material Bank allows specifiers to search for products they need in one place while eliminating packaging waste. What previously took hours trolling multiple websites and entailed several packages delivered over many days is reduced to mere minutes of browsing on one centralized site. “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 I. Sandow, who also helms 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 led by Go Nakazawa, who has been appointed CEO of Material Bank Japan and brings 18 years of leadership experience. 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. 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.”

Material Bank also recently earned a spot on Forbes list of America’s Best Startup Employers list of 500 top brands. The award, presented by Forbes and Statista Inc., a statistics portal and industry ranking provider, recognizes the brand’s innovative work and impact throughout the design industry.