Unigo

Unigo (株式会社ユニゴ) is a Japanese company operating a store-staffing infrastructure service it calls "in-brand spot work" (ブランド内スポットワーク). The service is designed for retail and restaurant brands whose outlets are run by different operating companies, and aims to remove what the company describes as the "employer wall" between franchise stores so that an entire brand can function as a single labour pool.

As the company frames the problem, directly operated stores under a single operator can already lend staff to one another through shift adjustment, while franchise stores that share a brand but have separate operating companies cannot, because no employment contract exists between a worker and a neighbouring store even if it is across the street. Unigo's platform allows staff to work at nearby stores of the same brand on a per-day basis; because operations and menus are shared across the brand, the company states workers can be productive from their first day. Materials on the service site reference data from one franchise chain in the Tokyo metropolitan area covering 342 stores and 155 owners across Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures.

Business model

Unigo positions its offering as store-operations infrastructure sold to brands and their store operators, with the site inviting inquiries from both franchise headquarters and individual owners and offering tailored proposals for how the service could be applied to a given brand.

Traction

Service materials cite real data from one franchise chain covering 342 stores and 155 owners across Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures, with the brand name withheld.

Latest developments

The company is recruiting engineers and interns and accepting casual interviews at its Omiya office, and maintains a news section for company announcements.