Could you briefly tell us how the brand "FUJITO" was launched?
Mr. Fujito (hereafter, titles omitted)
In my previous job, I worked for a company that was a sales agent for Denime. I was the manager of the shop, so I had no involvement in manufacturing, and I just ran the shop. During my last year there, I shared the office with friends, and we would get together every night after work to make silk screen T-shirts and sell them to our friends. At that time, FUJITO wasn't a brand name. Well, I guess I was still playing around.
When the store I was working at was closing down, my seniors asked me things like "Fujito, what are you going to do after this?" When I told them "I haven't decided yet," they were like "No, no, you're going to start a brand, aren't you?" and that's how it all started.
Uchimura
So you didn't get together to make things in order to start a brand?
Fujito
Yes, I didn't go to a design school. I was a clothing lover working as a salesperson, and when the store closed down I decided to start my own brand.
Uchimura
So you started out without having studied design, as is often the case?
Fujito
Yes, I went to a normal university and went on group dates. I didn't study design, but I liked sales, so I was involved in customer service for quite a long time from my teens. In fact, there aren't many people around me who are running brands who graduated from design school. I only hang out with people who used to be salespeople. (laughs)
Uchimura
It's amazing that someone who used to be a salesperson can start a brand. Is that even possible?
Fujito
In any case, I think it's difficult to start a brand, but there's no shortcut just because you've graduated from school. In my case, the clothes I make are casual, which I call "real clothes." I make "necessary clothes," so there's not much to study at school. I think it's about whether you know about secondhand clothes, and maybe that's better for manufacturing, but when it comes to planning and talking to factories and pattern makers about production, I don't think it's the same as being taught at school. Of course, it's a different story if you sew it yourself. In other words, if you want to run a mode brand, I think that's not impossible.
Uchimura
That's a very interesting story. The key point is "real clothes," and the approach from the manufacturing side, which is different from that of mode, makes it possible, right?
Fujito
That's right. To put it in words, "real clothes" is not about creating fantasy. Paris Fashion Week and fashion runways are infrastructure for people who want to see unrealistic fantasies, and they create high-quality works of art that don't have to be wearable at worst.
Uchimura
I really resonated with the term "real clothes." I believe that the vintage watches I recommend to my customers also need to focus on the essence of the watch, and that overemphasizing the vintage aspect can lead to worship.
The brand "FUJITO" has a long history. How do you maintain the continuity of the brand while still keeping new ideas and creativity?
Fujito
"Continuing" was the top priority for all decisions. In order to continue for a long time, I think it's important to have a realistic image of what the rent will be, how big the business will be, how many staff members there will be, and so on.
I think that these things ultimately lead to clothes that you can enjoy for a long time. For example, clothes you wore last year can be easily combined with clothes you bought this year. This way, you don't have to buy all new clothes, and you can shop with confidence without worrying about trends. I try to incorporate such elements into my designs.
Of course, it's better to be successful. It would be better if I could hit a home run, but I couldn't. For the first three or four years, I didn't have a job, and for about six years, I couldn't make a living.
Uchimura
Is that because you were aiming for a home run that it was tough?
Fujito
No, I was in a miserable situation where I wasn't even aiming for it in the first place and I couldn't make a living . Or rather, I think I wasn't even up to bat. (laughs) I survived by working part-time jobs for about six years. As I was told at the beginning, apparel is still tough. It was especially difficult to launch a brand and release it in a rural area than it is now. When I started my brand in 2002, there was only a little bit of the Internet and no SNS. In that sense, there were almost no benefits to doing it in a rural area. Nowadays, we are connected by the Internet regardless of location, and by making full use of that, we can release our work anywhere, so I'm really glad that I didn't quit.
Uchimura
In other words, rather than trying new things while maintaining sustainability, you have continued to focus solely on preserving the tradition?
Fujito
It's true. I kept doing it every day to earn a living, and it felt like I crawled out of the sea and became an amphibian. (laughs)
Uchimura
I see. I understand what you're saying about the mentality, but I feel that if you continue to play it safe and do the same thing over and over again, you won't gain new customers, especially if the quality is good. What do you think about that?
Fujito
That's certainly true. I'd love to know why you've been able to continue for over 20 years! (laughs) I do n't really know the exact reason. However, I'm 48 years old now, but one thing that hasn't changed since I started the brand in 2002 when I was 28 is that I've been making clothes that I myself would want to wear at the time. I don't just throw it into the dark corner of my life, but the brand is aging with me.
Uchimura
Your defensive stance, which you thought hadn't changed, was actually a reflection of yourself, which led to the product evolving and perhaps this led to the acquisition of new customers.
Fujito
It's true that our techniques and skills have improved, and our range of expression has expanded. Looking back, we've matured in a good way. It gives off a calm atmosphere, not flashy. The model we're using at FUJITO now is a foreigner who's just my age, and when I see him, I think the brand has aged quite a bit. It's not that the brand has to keep on being new, but rather, we're creating things that are just right for us as we get older, based on our values.
Uchimura
So you don't try to force yourself, but express what you feel at the moment as real clothing. It's a very simple idea, but I thought it was amazing to actually put it into practice.
Fujito
By the way, in another interview, I was asked "What do you want to be in the future?" and I answered that I don't know what the future holds, but as of now, I think of my shop as a "teishoku restaurant." It's in town, it's delicious, and it's open every day. It seems to use local ingredients, and the guys seem to be working hard behind the scenes. I think of my shop as a clothing store that serves teishoku using local ingredients at a reasonable price, just like a teishoku restaurant.
Uchimura
I'm amazed at how good Fujito-san's analogies are! (laughs)
Fujito
This is an image I get from my own experience, and I actually go to places like this too. You don't go to a fancy cafe and take fancy photos, do you? It 's comforting to be in a place that makes you feel at ease and that serves the same miso soup with the same dashi stock as always.
Uchimura
If you put it into words, you might say new ideas or creativity, but in a sense, by running the brand without lying to myself, it feels like it has changed from 20 years ago and has continued without me realizing it.
Fujito
I think so. Speaking of sustainability, it is very important in my work to not get bored. At some point, clothing became my job, and at one point I hated it so much that I didn't even want to look at it. Business didn't go well, and I lost interest in brands and secondhand clothes. I think that the story of how to come to terms with yourself at times like that is ultimately a work theory. I like clothes, so I started selling T-shirts as a hobby, but that doesn't last. They don't sell, and it's not that fun, so you can't continue with something you don't like. I thought it would be difficult to continue if I didn't get bored, so I tried to keep a moderate distance.
The big trigger for me to maintain that distance was when I was asked by Mr. Riverano to go to Italy. At that time, I saw Japan from overseas, and when I went overseas to talk about my brand, especially when I lived in a regional city like Fukuoka and looked over Florence, I could see it from a bird's-eye view. I felt that the farther away I was from that bird's-eye view, the more calm I could see it. Even though I'm not like that now, I somehow gained the ability to see it from a bird's-eye view. When I came back from going around overseas exhibitions (Paris, New York, London), I realized that we were working in a pretty good environment, and I began to see a little bit about what we needed to do. In short, I think that reevaluating the local strengths that are taken for granted, such as really delicious food and cheap rent, and utilizing them in my own activities and production, naturally led to my creations.
Uchimura
Thank you. I was able to hear some practical and essential information.
In addition to the sustainability of your brand, you also believe that relationships with your customers are extremely important. What approach do you take to deepen these relationships with your customers?
Fujito
We don't do anything special, but what age group are most of your customers?
Uchimura
Since we are the third generation, most of our local customers are elderly, but when I work with apparel companies like this time, most of the customers are in their 30s to 50s, so it feels like we are completely divided into two groups. Of course, the products we propose may be different.
Fujito
The customers we have are around that age group. The main customers are in their 30s to 50s, but I don't see many people in their 20s. Well, I feel like they are being pulled by their generation. Then, family circumstances come into play, and when they get married and have children, the budget for clothes and the space in their closet become limited. That's why many people want to tidy up and throw away unnecessary things rather than buying new clothes. If it's a customer we've been dealing with for a long time, I remember their clothes, so I sometimes give them advice on whether they should buy something or not. Like, this is good, but this might not be right now. Of course, I also recommend repairs. So, although the number of customers buying new clothes is decreasing, I think what's important is quality.
It seems like the customers who come to the store aren't there to buy products, but rather to chat. Maybe they want to ask for advice, or just want someone to listen. So I think the most important thing with customers is trust and communication. Nowadays, when you go to a clothing store, you feel like you have to buy something, don't you? We often get orders online from neighbors, so I think there must be some kind of difficulty in going to the store.
Uchimura
I certainly feel that kind of atmosphere these days. Some people may be worried that they will be sold something if they go to a store.
Fujito
That's why we take it case by case, and we have EC and BLOG etc., so I think it's necessary to use those tools properly to let people know. On the other hand, even if there aren't many customers in the store, we don't think about reducing business hours. On the contrary, we think we need to be open at any time and be ready to welcome customers when they come.
Uchimura
In other words, you are using modern tools to suit the characteristics of each customer. You also do Instagram Live every week, right?
Fujito
Yes, I do it. Every Tuesday for about 30 minutes. Before I knew it, I was doing it quite a lot.
Uchimura
It's amazing! It's common to see companies that focus too much on the means and end up offering things that customers don't actually want. But I got the impression that Fujito-san is able to properly meet the needs of his customers and use his services without discrimination.
Fujito
We don't have any particular desire to do this, but we do everything we know that our customers want. Next is Tik Tok? (laughs) Anything is fine. We don't have any particular preference for tools, and we'll do it as long as we can perform in a format that suits the times. Also , since we make our own products, we think that our strength is that we can immediately reflect information we get directly from our customers. I want to cherish that, so I still serve customers as much as possible. In other words, although we run a store, we are still manufacturers. We are in a state of sorting out BtoB and BtoC that are done in the same place. If we were to try to run a store alone, I think it would be difficult to sell, but since we also have work as manufacturers, we can balance it out, which is also our strength.
Uchimura
I see. It seems that by acting as a manufacturer, you are reducing the mental stress that customers feel when making a purchase.
Fujito
That may be part of it. Also, there are many customers who want to experience the live feeling of seeing the products being made in this place. There are surprisingly few local men's manufacturers that do everything from manufacturing to retail, so our customers are very happy with this.
Uchimura
It's true that there may be fewer brands like this here compared to the metropolitan area. But being able to go to a store to shop and meet the designer face-to-face is a rare and wonderful experience, isn't it?
Fujito
I don't think that's the case, but I'd be very happy if you thought so. (laughs)