Japan's Gas Stations Are Dying. This Company Sells Them a Way Out.

6,661 Japanese gas stations already sell KeePer coatings under licence. Now the best of them are converting into franchises. It trades at less than 10 times this year's operating profit.

A KeePer coating is a thin glass film that goes onto car paint. The cheapest one, Crystal KeePer, takes a couple of hours and costs ¥18,200, about $117, on a small car. The most expensive, W Diamond KeePer, takes most of a day and costs ¥108,000, about $690, on a large one. What the customer is buying is a brand they recognise and trust, and a system that produces the same result in every shop allowed to use the name.

That is the idea behind this company. It built the brand and the method, then let other people’s shops do the work.

The shares trade at ¥3,650, which values KeePer Technical Laboratory (TSE: 6036, KeePer技研) at ¥99.6bn, or about $638m at ¥156 to the dollar. Revenue in the twelve months to June 2026 was ¥25.96bn, up 12.4%.

[Video: KeePer’s own commercial for a KeePer LABO. ]

What KeePer sells

KeePer designs the coatings and has them made under contract by SONAX, a German manufacturer. In May 2024 the two replaced an open-ended supply deal with an exclusive worldwide agreement running ten years.