A photo-booth business with recurring digital revenue
FuRyu is a major Japanese supplier of purikura photo-sticker machines. Its Girls Trend Business combines machine sales and operation, directly managed stores, other services and Pictlink, a subscription service through which users save and access images.
For the fiscal year ended March 2026, segment revenue was JPY14.388 billion and segment profit was JPY3.589 billion. Revenue fell 2.9% from the previous year, while profit increased 14.0%.
Revenue mix
| Revenue category | FY2024/3 | FY2025/3 | FY2026/3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcade operations | 7,470 | 6,974 | 6,116 |
| Direct stores | 1,401 | 1,266 | 1,160 |
| Pictlink | 6,402 | 6,184 | 6,822 |
| Other and new business | 635 | 393 | 289 |
| Total | 15,910 | 14,818 | 14,388 |
Figures are JPY millions and may not sum perfectly because of presentation categories and rounding. In FY2026, Pictlink revenue exceeded arcade-operations revenue, although it remained below arcade operations plus direct stores combined.
Fewer plays, more digital value per user
Reported annual plays fell from 45.49 million in FY2020 to 27.87 million in FY2026, a decline of about 39%. At the same time, Pictlink revenue rose in FY2026 following a July 2025 price-plan unification.
Membership comparisons need care because the plan definitions changed. The premium-member count rose from 200,000 to 1.25 million after unification, while total paid members moved from 1.37 million to 1.27 million. The first figure is therefore not a like-for-like sixfold increase in the total paid customer base.
What this model suggests
The segment shows three distinct economics:
- Machines and arcade operations create the capture experience and distribution.
- Direct stores give the company more control over customer experience and unit economics.
- Pictlink turns stored photos and editing features into recurring digital revenue.
That combination can support profit even when play volume declines. It does not mean physical booths have become unimportant: the booth is still the acquisition and content-creation point for the subscription service.
Japanese venue-registration data also needs careful wording. An independent August 2026 directory counted 6,229 model registrations at 2,010 venues, including 5,621 FuRyu registrations. A registration is not a verified installed-machine census; multiple units of the same model at one venue may appear as one entry.
Sources
Sources: FuRyu investor-relations materials for the fiscal year ended March 2026. Monetary figures are JPY millions unless stated otherwise.
This is an English reference adaptation of original Chinese research onjoelin.cc.