President Hatenara deals with it! ~ Exciting miscellaneous goods chain ~: "Cumbria Palace" that you can read | TV Tokyo Plus

Gourmand, belly band, household goods ...- All original cheap products

The popular store "Awesome Store Tokyo" opened in Shibuya, Tokyo two years ago. "Awesome Store" is a chain store of household goods with 62 stores nationwide. The general merchandise chain is doing well due to the demand from Korona-ka, but the "Awesome Store" is popular for its original products developed in-house. All are cheap because they do not go through wholesale. However, the attraction is not cheap. Every product is full of playfulness that you will want to see in your hands. For example, the rice scoop "Shamoji Lady" (429 yen), which is based on the image of Marilyn Monroe. "Toothpick holder man" (649 yen) where a toothpick comes out when the lid part is moved up and down. Yarn pants "Mokomoko belly band pants" (429 yen) and "Mokomoko belly band" (385 yen) are also popular winter items as pop loungewear. It also suppresses ease of use and functionality. For example, the "towel holder" (319 yen) is simply attached to the wall with a suction cup on the back and the towel is inserted. It is useful if you do not choose a place. The "aluminum sponge" (55 yen), which is woven with aluminum, is popular with housewives when it gets dirty well. The "compact curling iron" is 15 cm long and fits in a bag. It is convenient for traveling and the low price of 759 yen is also popular. Awesome President Yasuhiro Horiguchi (66) had a strong commitment to "never lose to other companies in terms of product design." What looks like a cookie is actually a "wrap" for food (162 yen). If you think it's a can of beer, it's a "bottle wet tissue" (209 yen). "It's something that doesn't play a leading role in the kitchen. It's lost after using it. The idea is to blow on them so that they can be placed on the table to make a picture." (Horiguchi) Also the supporting sponge in the kitchen. The design says, "Why do you use the one designed by Tora? It's not a sponge but a decoration." By adding a unique design to what should be used, it creates a sense of excitement. The "Awesome Store" is in great shape even in Korona-ka, but the most popular is the original food group such as "Harajuku Ramen". All sweets and snacks are 105 yen. The food is also an eye-catching package design, but the contents are also average. There was an extraordinary commitment. All the foods in the Awesome store are made by domestic cooperating factories. One of them, "Miyajima Soy Sauce" in Tochigi and Utsunomiya City, is a food manufacturer that has been in business for 140 years. Awesome is asking for the Korean medicinal soup "Samgyetang" (Samgyetang). It has more ingredients than usual, and is packed with 5 kinds of ingredients such as steamed chicken, shredded ginger and shimeji mushrooms. Moreover, "it takes a lot of time and effort because they all come in separately." Since there are many ingredients that are easy to cut, each is handled manually. That's why manpower is needed. The time-consuming product is the "Samgyetang" (246 yen) in the "Just put on rice!" Series. If you can easily enjoy the authentic taste, it is useful for the demand of Korona-ka. "Awesome store" that shines uniquely in the miscellaneous goods industry with the idea as a weapon. "If there is nothing that other companies do not have, it will be swallowed by major companies. I think that we will not survive unless we brush up the one and only business format in our household goods industry." (Horiguchi)

Behind the design and functionality products-Beauty college graduate!A group of designers who make a statement

At Awesome Store, we develop all items in-house, from daily necessities to food. It is the development team of designers centered on women that makes this possible. They say they have one thing in common. Musashino Art University, Tama Art University, Tokyo University of the Arts ... Many people from art schools are hired to improve the quality of their designs. One designer made kitchen tools such as "Silicon Tool Keeper (Pig)" (319 yen). "If you're using a ladle and want to put it a little, but you're worried about dripping, put it in the gap and it's floating so it's hygienic." Not only can it be floated, but it is also made of silicon, so it is resistant to heat and can be hooked on the edge of the pot. Since it is necessary to make fine adjustments to the size and angle of the notch, we are making detailed blueprints. What's more, the work of a designer is not over once the design is improved. "In this company, one person makes a product from scratch and the whole process is entrusted to him." Responsible consistently from trial production after design to completion. We communicate with our affiliated factories in China until we are satisfied with them to maintain quality. The most nervous thing for such designers is the presentation of the finished prototype designs in one room. If the president Horiguchi's go does not come out here, we cannot move on. On this day, the design of the tablecloth for this year's Halloween was unveiled. Halloween goods are one of the top earners of the "Awesome Store". Horiguchi's expression became steep. "It's a little lacking in impact. The color is the same, but the contrast is too low. It feels too calm." He says that the design sold by "Awesome Store" does not have enough impact. However, the staff is not silent either. "I pulled it under the tableware, so I made it so that it wouldn't hit too much," he says. "I understand the intent of the design, but at first glance I don't know what the pattern is. I've noticed the letters and other things are subs." (Horiguchi) "Don't dare to add contrast. The white is also dropped so that it does not stand out. ”(Designer) The designers around me will also participate in the discussion. Horiguchi says that this kind of free discussion leads to good manufacturing. "I do most of my experience, but that experience isn't the same as today's employees and consumers. So, in my opinion, it's different," now the staff around me can clearly say. I'm doing it "(Horiguchi)

Living in the park & ​​Sokoban in the slums-Positive president's ups and downs

Horiguchi was born in 1955 in a house that runs a town factory in Saga City. He has been fond of painting since he was a child, and he aspired to be a painter and took the Tokyo University of the Arts exam, but failed twice. He felt a great frustration. "Because my final academic background is a high school graduate, I thought that I couldn't compete with a university graduate in my normal life. So, I'm leaving Japan for the time being." (Horiguchi) I need funds to go abroad. There, Horiguchi takes a ridiculous action. To save money, he started to live in a field at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya Ward. "The apartment costs money, so I withdrew it and went to work for manual labor." (Horiguchi) After continuing such a life for half a year and somehow saving 500,000 yen, in 1976, I went to Los Angeles, USA with the cheapest ticket. However, although he arrived, he did not speak English and had no job. He arrived at a slum known for its dangerous areas. He managed to get hired as a sokoban at a liquor store. On the first day of his work, the owner of the store picked up a pistol and said, "Have you ever used it?" "I was so scared here. There were various weapons under the counter. I tried not to look at them as much as possible." (Horiguchi) Horiguchi, who wanted to become independent someday, eventually became a sushi chef from the owner. Introduced and started cooking training. He had a takeaway specialty store a year later, and when he returned home two years later, he reached out to various businesses. "I happened to enter a store in Futako Tamagawa, and I thought the design of the product there was amazing. There was such a product." (Horiguchi) It was a sealed container made of pottery that was beginning to become popular at that time. "Normal is normal. Everyone is used to it now. I had never seen it at that time, and it was extremely difficult to make a sealed container from pottery." (Horiguchi) Horiguchi fell in love with the container. Immediately contacted the president of the manufacturer, and in 1982, he founded a wholesale company "Repby House" that specializes in the products there. This was my encounter with the miscellaneous goods business. The start is good, and sales are 300 million yen in two years. However, the tableware maker also missed the trend and gradually stalled. Then, in 1990, I started an import trading company of miscellaneous goods in order to compete with my own connoisseur products. "However, even if you buy a product, you can only sell it. It's a wholesale product. If it doesn't sell a little, it may be returned. Horiguchi, who thought that it was a retail match rather than a wholesaler, opened a select shop for miscellaneous goods in Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture in 1998. Then, the good-looking product lineup gained popularity, and the number of stores expanded to 80, mainly in suburban commercial facilities. Horiguchi seemed to have finally succeeded, but an unexpectedly huge enemy appeared there. In the early 2000s, foreign-owned fast fashion landed in Japan one after another, causing a big boom. "The momentum of fast fashion was amazing. It was Kurofune." (Horiguchi) One day, the person in charge of the commercial facility where my store is located tells me that I cannot renew my contract next season. He says fast fashion stores want more space. The turning point from such adversity was the landing of the Danish low-priced general store "Flying Tiger". In 2013, when the first store in Tokyo was opened in Omotesando, it became explosively popular. Horiguchi positively saw the emergence of rivals as an opportunity. "If you like'Flying Tiger', you can change to an industry like'Flying Tiger'. I thought I'd play head-to-head." (Horiguchi) To compete, shift products from purchasing to in-house development and focus on design. And hired a large number of people from art school. We decided to open the store in the same Omotesando as "Flying Tiger". When the store opened in 2014, it was so successful that there was a line in front of the store from the first day. Horiguchi survived the turbulent life positively and grew into a popular miscellaneous goods chain with 62 stores nationwide.

Colorful toppings shine-popular Awesome bagels

A new attempt at the "Awesome Store" in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. It is the development of a cafe to further enhance the excitement. All the menus are also developed in-house. Bagels are sold at the cafe. Bagels have the image of donut-shaped, slightly hard and chunky bread, but Awesome-style bagels have ingredients on top. "Garlic caprese" (396 yen) is a colorful one with basil, lemon and tomato. What looks like chocolate donuts is "crazy hot chocolate" (396 yen). "Bagels are popularly sold in New York, but I don't think they are familiar with Japan, so if there is originality in the bagels, I think it will penetrate." (Awesome Horiguchi Shusaku) First of all, I created a new bagel with a topping on top. Then, female customers uploaded photos on SNS one after another. Incorporating design into food, we are catching new fans. * Prices are at the time of broadcasting. -Editor's note of Ryu Murakami-The history on the website is interesting. It begins with "February 1982, 3 employees founded Repby House Co., Ltd. in Fukasawa, Setagaya-ku." After that, there was "decision to enter the directly managed retail business", and "opening a new format brand" continued. It's an ambitious history, but I don't feel an aggressive look. There is no attitude to crush somewhere. Mr. Horiguchi has expanded his business with a quiet, painting-like attitude. He probably likes to choose and sell products. Needless to say, selling products is a pleasure. I am faithful to that pleasure. Yasuhiro Horiguchi Born in Saga Prefecture in 1955. After graduating from Prefectural Sagahigashi High School in 1973, he failed to take the university entrance exam. In 1974, he went to the United States. 1982 Established "Rep House". If you missed the opening of "Awesome Store" in 2014, go to Tele East BIZ!