30 | History of Glass: Kimoto Glass's Challenge and Glass Manufacturing Story (13)

It was a difficult time after I became president, with refusals to work with department stores like Aeon, Takashimaya, and Odakyu, sales dropping to one-fifth, and staff decreasing from over ten to three. The painful decision for the company's survival was the agony of having to lay off employees who had worked with me for many years.

When I went home, I had five growing children to feed, and my wife was working hard every day. I thought, worried, and made decisions alone. It was a layoff and a survival strategy.

Stopping the continuous losses, stemming the bleeding, and then thinking about the next growth strategy—with no people, no money, and no time—I really struggled then. I can write about it now, but back then, I was probably quite ill (laughs).

It was my friends who saved me during that time when I was ill. A president can't complain. There's no need for excuses; one must think about problems and issues. Laying off employees by downsizing the business is not something you can easily tell banks or business partners. At such a desperate time, I confided in my tennis friends, who had nothing to do with my work, telling them how much I was struggling. This became a turning point for a change of pace and new ideas. My friends didn't offer any specific suggestions or advice; they just listened to my worries and regrets. Just by listening to me, they gave me a lot of courage and energy.

It was then that I realized how much talking to people can change one's feelings and mood.

My friends helped me mentally.

Thank you ♪

Going back a bit, amidst the refusals to work with department stores, why was the collaboration with Mitsukoshi and Isetan able to continue??

As you all know, Isetan is a very sports-oriented company. Since its main store in Shinjuku Sanchome is far from Shinjuku, they proactively challenge themselves with product MD and advertising to attract customers to the store. Mitsukoshi, on the other hand, is a venerable department store founded 350 years ago. Many of its partners in various categories are also long-established, and it values tradition and formality. However, it also pursues new challenges, having become Japan's first department store from a kimono shop, implementing fixed pricing and no credit sales.

From these two companies, Kimoto Glass Co. received consultations regarding product development and assortment of glassware, and we earnestly presented our proposals. This led to Kimoto Glass's next phase: new product development based on advice and ideas from Isetan and Mitsukoshi, and the industry's first challenge of offering lifestyle proposals through sake tasting in the tableware section. Through expanding connections with various people and media coverage, the company that had undergone a major restructuring in 2008, with sales at 1/5 and staff reduced to 1/6, managed to survive. Thank you.