Ditching the manual for custom-made success.(Grit & Glamor: Epi.8)
Let talented people around make you more talented.
Previously:
In April 2004, my acquaintance Mr.U, who was moving to a famous advertising agency, introduced me to the concept of “blogging.” Meanwhile, my efforts with newsletters and the website were pointed out by my supervisor, who suggested that I stop as it might affect the company’s branding, highlighting the need for a new strategy.
Therefore, I asked the company president if I could attend a manager training course but was instructed to “refine my sensibilities,” leaving me perplexed. Consulting with apparel executive Mr.K, I learned that cultivating sensibilities means always asking “why?” when observing things. This realization made me understand the importance of thinking and acting on my own rather than imitating others’ ideas. Deciding to let go of past successes, I resolved to grow through new challenges and began to forge a path of creating new ideas for the future.
Chapter 4: Destruction and Creation
4.1 Involving Others
The moment I shifted my mindset from my past self to my future self, I felt my perspective and actions begin to change. From now on, I thought I should involve more people in the actions I devised in my head.
At that time, it was customary for all shops to hold a “Summer Sale” on July 1st. However, in reality, secret sales would start in mid-June, prioritizing loyal customers, followed by those who received direct mail (DM) invitations, who could then purchase items at sale prices. As a unique attempt at the Shibuya store, I decided to introduce a “newsletter reader slot” before the DM customers for the first time. By allowing newsletter readers to participate in the sale first, I believed it would bring joy to our customers!
Moreover, this time the company provided us with a B5-sized impactful DM instead of a postcard. This large DM was sure to catch the customer’s eye and make them think, “What is this?!” To utilize this effectively, I decided to add handwritten messages. However, there were nearly 1000 DMs for the Shibuya store, and I wondered if I had the time to handwrite them, but I resolved to do it.
I went to the Ginza office and arranged for the DMs to be delivered to Shibuya. When the large number of DMs arrived at the Shibuya store, the staff were puzzled, asking, “Are we really writing on all of these?” Thinking about how to motivate them, I bought gold pens to make it fun, given the black DMs, and came up with catchy phrases that the staff could enjoy. “Prices that even surprise our staff! We are looking forward to seeing you!”
I started writing first, and the gold letters stood out beautifully on the black DMs, making it enjoyable, almost like signing autographs. I told everyone to help when they had time. Even if they didn’t, I was prepared to write all of them myself.
With over 1000 DMs, each person had to write at least 100. On the day we made a final push before the deadline, all the late-shift staff gathered around the long cash register counter and, before we knew it, we had all finished writing them together! For the first time, I felt a sense of unity at the Shibuya store, and I was moved to tears.
The strategy of having a sale exclusively for newsletter readers worked well, and even the week after the VIP sale ended, it was clear that only the Shibuya store had significantly better sales than other stores. Thanks to the DMs we all wrote together, the DM sale was also a success!
Not wanting to miss this opportunity, I announced to customers with DMs, “We are having a newsletter sale before the DM sale, so please write down your email address!” I asked customers to write their addresses on an Excel sheet I created. Since the Personal Information Protection Law would not be fully enforced until April 2005, there was no hesitation at that time, and they wrote their addresses without any concerns.
I then made sure to send thank-you emails to those who visited. This way, DM customers became newsletter readers and then grew into VIPs. This made me feel that we could break the notion that “the Shibuya store doesn’t attract loyal customers.”
4.2 Handmade T-Shirts
As we prepared for the general sale, I wondered what kind of window display would be effective. To involve everyone, I decided to consult with the staff.
Ms. I, a woman in her early twenties who had been working since the Shibuya store’s grand opening, was adept at critical thinking. Her straightforward personality may have been challenging for some, but I found her reliable. She once praised me as “the most proactive manager so far” and was very cooperative. So, I decided to ask Ms. I for ideas for the sale window display.
“I’ve seen mannequins wearing T-shirts with sale messages at store B,” she said.
“That sounds fun!” I thought. But how do we do it? Are those T-shirts available for purchase? No, we can just paint sale messages on white T-shirts. Can I do that? Oh, I should ask my sister, who graduated from art school!
With only three days left until the sale, I asked my sister to come to the Shibuya store on my day off. Although she declined to enter the store, we stood a bit away from the windows, discussing how to paint the sale message on the T-shirts.
“First, print the word ‘SALE’ on paper and cut it out. Then, place the cut-out paper on the T-shirt and paint over it to create the lettering,” she explained.
My amateur idea was to sketch the letters directly on the T-shirt with a pencil and then trace them with markers or paint. I was impressed by her more practical.
We immediately went to Muji in Shibuya. As expected, we quickly found white T-shirts, but they seemed a bit plain for fashion-conscious customers. Continuing our search, we discovered tank tops. Imagining red “SALE” letters on tank tops made me smile. “Let’s go with tank tops!” We bought about ten of them.
Next, we went to Tokyu Hands to buy red paint, a coating agent, and flat brushes. It was funny to think that just yesterday, I hadn’t even imagined gathering these materials. Since the painting method seemed difficult for an amateur like me, I asked my sister to come to my apartment.
We spread newspapers on the floor of my new apartment, set up a mini table with the paint ready, chose an elegant font in Microsoft Word, and printed the letters. We then cut out the letters with scissors.
My sister’s demonstration began. She placed the cut-out paper on the T-shirt and stamped paint through it, revealing the letters on the shirt. When one shirt was completed, we exclaimed in admiration. It was getting late, so my sister went home, leaving me to finish the rest.
I was excited to show this to the staff the next day. As I finished the shirts alone, I felt a great sense of accomplishment. I realized that I already had talented people around me. It felt like the pieces for success were already in place. Such a fun and exciting idea could never be found in a manual. Thank you so much, sister.
The next day, with the paint dry, I brought the tank tops to the store. They were a big hit with the staff, making the late-night work worthwhile.
In the evening, we dressed several mannequins in the sale tank tops, completing a simple yet effective sale display. We also set up the sales floor for the sale. For the first time, I was involved in the display, and I felt we were perfectly prepared for the sale.
On the first day of the sale, Ms.T, a VMD staff member, wanted to change into a SALE tank top! I was delighted. As expected, the fashionista styled it perfectly! Customers even asked, “Are those sale tank tops for sale?” I, too, was asked eventually and proudly replied, “These are handmade!”
After two years in the apparel industry, I finally experienced creating sales through my ideas.