Running a select shop. Celebrating our 15th anniversary. Let’s take a quick look back at the journey so far.

March 20, 2009.
The day Mr.OLDMAN opened its doors.
Today is March 20, 2024.
A lot has happened, but today marks exactly 15 years.

It may sound cliché, but to everyone who has been involved with Mr.OLDMAN, thank you so much.
Thanks to you, I've managed to keep this going for 15 years.
And I feel like I can keep it going even further from here.

In today's blog, I'd like to briefly look back on these 15 years.
I thought about writing it properly for a second, but when I think about it, there's just too much I want to write and it would probably take days, so I'm going to rush through it (lol).

A nostalgic look at the previous shop in 2009.
As I've written before, I opened this shop on March 20, 2009, when I was 25.
I left my previous job in apparel within the same prefecture to strike out on my own.
Looking back now, I just charged ahead on pure adrenaline without knowing anything.

As for the initial lineup, it included WAREHOUSE, FOB factory, and BACKDROP, which unfortunately no longer does wholesale.
Starting that summer, we also began carrying TROPHY CLOTHING and BLUCO.
We also lined up imports and deadstock items.
The core of the business remains the same as it is today, I suppose.

Come to think of it, we also carried some women's items when we first opened.
Though that faded out after about a year... lol

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The shop interior right before opening.
It looked like this. I have very nostalgic memories of desperately painting and building shelves until the middle of every night before we opened.
It still looks pretty clean.

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There I was at 25 (lol).
I found a photo online that was featured in the local newspaper (lol).
I'm wearing WAREHOUSE denim and a Healthknit henley.
The box seen on the right is deadstock VANS; the things I love haven't changed much since then (lol).

Back then, I was just desperate; I only had a few days off a year and it was total slave labor.
I often worked from morning until the middle of the night.

I had just started on my own and was desperate to support my family.
Thanks to that, I think I managed to pay myself a salary of around 200,000 yen by the third month.
I'm a "guts and glory" jock-type guy, so I just kept charging ahead for several years.
Sales were steadily climbing upward.

In the 3rd year (maybe?), our first staff member, RYOTA, joined.
He supported me during the early days when the company was still not very well-established.
I'm so happy that he still comes to visit and that our relationship continues.

Back then, everyone was riding fixed-gear bikes, so after work, we'd go ride in Takasaki or Isesaki, or ride our motorcycles to go grab food.
We even drove the Ken-O Expressway at night to go to Demode Diner in Fussa (lol).
I pushed the XLCH I was riding back then pretty hard (lol).
(The engine died a few years later on the way back from JOINTS in Nagoya...)

I've remained friends with everyone who started coming to the shop in those first three years. The number one best part about running a shop is undoubtedly the people I've met.
I've made so many friends.
This is my greatest treasure.

As for sales, by the 4th year, they were about 2.5 times what they were in the first year.
However, it's also a fact that due to how busy I was, I started to wonder, "Is this really okay?"

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A scene from setting up at the Hot Rod Custom Show.
Since RYOTA and I shared a hobby for motorcycles, we used to have a booth at the Hot Rod Custom Show in Yokohama every year back then.
I think we did it about 4 times in total?
It was an incredibly busy and tough time, but it was fun.

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After cleaning up at the Hot Rod Show.
After that, REN joined us. He was still young, but he was a hard worker with his own firm ideas.
He's still working hard at what he wants to do today and comes to visit the shop sometimes.
I hope we both keep doing our best in the future.

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An Early Shovelhead, which I no longer have.
I forget which year it was, but I asked Okaken Home, whom I had a relationship with, to renew the exterior.
I was so happy with how it turned out.

And around this time, I entered a period of personal struggle (lol).
REN and I were working desperately every day, sales were growing, and looking at the numbers alone, everything was in tip-top shape.
But I had absolutely no time, no days off. Was this really okay?

At the time, the three of us were running the physical store, our own online shop, the Rakuten shop, and the Yahoo shop. This was also around the time TOMOMI joined.
The Rakuten and Yahoo shops sold well, but the commission fees were insanely high, so it was hard to turn a profit.
But once you start, it's hard to quit.
We'd upload products, they'd sell, and we'd be busy with packing and shipping, yet we made almost no profit.

What should I do to keep the shop going for the next 5, 10, 20 years?
After agonizing over it, I made a decision.
We would quit the Rakuten and Yahoo shops and stick only to our own online shop.
And, we would value the physical store even more than before.
Don't be obsessed with sales. Focus more on the content than the sales figures.
I had been so obsessed with sales out of fear of going bankrupt.

It was certain that sales would plummet, but I felt that if I didn't do it now, I wouldn't be able to turn back.
As a result, our online sales dropped by about 20 million yen that year (lol).
It was a tough time, but from there, sales at the physical store started to grow rapidly.
And our own online shop's sales also started to grow little by little.

I changed our product lineup to be more unique and more "us."
I stopped stocking items just because they might sell or because they were popular.
I started selling items that I truly, sincerely wanted to recommend.
I stayed thoroughly committed to that, and the 20 million yen we lost was back within about two years.
Then, with the desire to make the physical store even better, I decided to relocate. It took a few years to find the new location.

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Starting with the demolition and removing the floors.
Once the new location was decided, construction started immediately!
This relocation wouldn't have been possible without the cooperation of so many people I'd met over the previous decade or so.

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The help from our Monday-off members was a real boost.
Filling the walls and ceilings with putty was truly grueling.
I'm really grateful to everyone.

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It's looking much cleaner now.
Everyone gathered after work to help out.
For those two months, things were moving so fast that I don't remember the details.
I was just desperate.

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Looking at it now, it's so clean.
Almost finished.
It looks mostly like the shop does today.
I remember standing here alone in the middle of the night, imagining the shop.

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The previous shop, which I was so attached to.
And finally, the last business day at the previous location.
Friends rushed over on the last day, and REN came to visit too.
I'm really grateful to everyone.
People really are your greatest treasure, aren't they?

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With this many people, it was over in no time.
On the day of the move, over ten friends gathered to help.
We were able to borrow trucks, and thanks to everyone, the move went off without a hitch.

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Everyone who rushed over on opening day.
And, successfully opened. This was after closing on the first day of the new shop, I think?
I believe it was March 20, 2020.

Since moving, I've had many new encounters with customers.
I'm so glad we shifted the company's direction back then.
By focusing on creating a shop that feels like "us," I think it's becoming a good shop for both the customers and ourselves.

As a company, we adopted a two-day work week and reduced our operating hours.
We are closed during the New Year holidays, and we don't hold any sales.
That might be rare for a typical clothing store, but there's no point if the staff is exhausted from being obsessed with sales figures.
Even so, we continue to break our previous sales records every year.
Strangely enough, once I decided to stop worrying about sales, sales started to grow naturally (lol).
But that's just how it is, isn't it?

Staff should work with motivation, take proper time off, and play.
You should go to the places you want to go, and you should do the things you want to do.
Whether it's a hobby, camping, or live music, I want them to be active.
Experience and feel things there to take in input, and then apply those senses to their work to create output.
After all, I want the staff at a clothing store to be attractive.

I'm only 40, and I have no idea what will happen from here on out.
We keep hearing about economic downturns, and I feel them, too.
Though, I've never actually experienced an era of economic prosperity (lol).

Based on my experience to date, I will continue to firmly propose and wholeheartedly convey the things I like and the things I think are good.
This is, after all, my job as a merchant.
I want this to be a shop that provides not just a transaction, but experiences that enrich life and lift spirits, and the encounters with people that start from there.

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A photo Taichi-kun took for me the other day.
Starting this year, a new staff member, HIROKI, has joined us.
At 25, he's still a bit green, but he's working hard.
The three of us will continue to work together and do our best.
We are a small shop, but we appreciate your continued support for Mr.OLDMAN.

March 20, 2024
Naoki Ichimura

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