26｜History of Glass: Kimoto Glass's Challenge and the Story of Glass Manufacturing (Part 9)

Hello everyone 🎵

Actually, from August 14th to September 2nd, I spent three weeks visiting New York, Peru, London, and Paris. I took a summer vacation in Peru and enjoyed Machu Picchu, the Nazca Lines, and the cities of Lima and Cusco, which I had wanted to visit since I was a child. It was a very fun, stimulating, and exciting time. I'll write about it on this blog sometime (lol).

By the way, I use FB to share my daily activities and information about Kimoto Glass. If there's anyone who isn't yet a friend and would like to connect, please send a friend request to Seiichi Kimoto and include a message saying you came from the blog. I'm afraid I cannot approve requests without a message, so please keep that in mind.

https://www.facebook.com/seiichi.kimoto.5

I talked about why Kimoto Glass, a small company dealing only in glass tableware, has survived, and the challenges I've taken on, but there's another major point.

What I learned from doing business with AEON was significant. In the 1960s, distribution, which Drucker called the "dark continent of the economy," underwent major changes. Against the backdrop of traditional retailers, consignment sales, and department stores shifting to rental spaces and tenants, the Japanese supermarket industry made significant strides in the 1990s. As stores grew larger and more numerous, and large shopping centers opened, Kimoto Glass struggled amidst these changes, but our business with the AEON Group allowed us to transform greatly and helped us survive to this day.

The basic considerations were: What is the optimal product for the customer? What is the price? What is the lot size? What is the timing? And for procurement, it was an open competition if the conditions were met.

Our rivals were diverse, including wholesale competitors, domestic and international manufacturers, and large global trading companies. The reason we survived among them was our thorough specialization and deepening into the small market of glass tableware, continuously proposing only what others could not do.

I've discussed this in past blog posts, so from next time onwards, I'd like to talk about what I learned from our collaboration with AEON.