Vol.53

Every time I see my customers happy, I am glad I chose this job.

Introduced here is Mr. Yoshikawa, who works at the Kyoto Store. Mr. Yoshikawa, who attended a university in Kyoto, joined IKEUCHI ORGANIC as a new graduate in April 2023, after having spent about a year as an intern during his school years. We asked him to tell us why he chose IKEUCHI ORGANIC as his place of employment and what he thinks about working at the store.

Kyoto Store Yoshikawa

Attracted by the attitude toward manufacturing and the excellence of the products

My name is Yoshikawa from IKEUCHI ORGANIC Kyoto Store.

I attended a university in Kyoto, and from my freshman year to the end of my junior year, I participated in a project involving Kyoto craftspeople dealing with traditional crafts. I had a variety of experiences in product development, package design, and event planning.

And as I devoted myself to these activities, I came to know the depth of Kyoto. The more I researched, the more I found charms I did not know existed, and there is always something new to discover just by walking around the city a little. I wanted to stay in Kyoto after graduation, so I began job hunting with a focus on companies located in Kyoto.

It was during this process that I discovered IKEUCHI ORGANIC’s Kyoto store.

Actually, I am from Shikokuchuo City in Ehime Prefecture, a little east of Imabari, but I had never heard of IKEUCHI ORGANIC until I started job hunting. I had never heard of IKEUCHI ORGANIC until I began my job search, but I became interested when I learned of their unique policy of “creating towels that babies can eat.

What surprised me more than anything in my research was the fact that they tell the whole story behind their manufacturing without hiding anything. I was shocked to learn that they had never seen a company that was so honest about their manufacturing. I was also attracted to IKEUCHI ORGANIC more and more.

However, at that time, IKEUCHI ORGANIC was not recruiting new graduates. However, I decided to ask as many questions as I could, so I sent an inquiry to the company’s inquiry form, asking, “Do you recruit new graduates?” I asked the company’s inquiry form. Then I received a call from them saying, “If you are interested, why don’t you intern with us as a store staff at the Kyoto Store?

I was grateful for the offer, but I was also worried about doing the internship without having a job offer. However, it was a chance encounter, and I thought, “I’d rather give it a try than worry about it,” so I decided to take care of the internship. A few months after I started my internship, I received an official job offer.

How to guide customers to the best towel for them

The appeal of working as a store staff member is that I can guide customers to products that I truly “love”. I think it is truly a blessing to be able to do that kind of work.

That is why I want to guide each and every customer to the towel that I think is best for them.

And in order to achieve this, it is important for us to listen to various information about our customers.

When I started working at the Kyoto Store, I was impressed by the broad perspective of the store manager, Mr. Masuda, and all the staff. I learned a lot from them.

For example, a large-sized product such as a towel blanket can completely change the atmosphere of a room with just one piece. Therefore, we sometimes ask about the condition of the customer’s home and consider what kind of atmosphere they would like to create in their room.

Thinking about towels and towelettes in this way leads to thinking about daily life. We not only ask our customers what they are looking for in towels, but also about their daily lives and their ideal lifestyle. I have learned that such an attitude is important.

As a store staff member, I would like to increase my own knowledge and skills, so that I can provide better guidance.

However, I also feel that I should not think too hard when welcoming customers to the store. Mr. Masuda also tells me to be cheerful, energetic, and smile.

I want to enjoy choosing towels with customers who come to the store with high expectations for IKEUCHI ORGANIC towels. It is with this in mind that I stand in the store every day.

I want to take on various challenges to realize my dreams.

After joining IKEUCHI ORGANIC, it is always the customers who make me feel glad that I chose this job.

When I see their faces when they try our towels and are impressed with them. When we see them leave the store saying, “That was fun,” or “I had a good shopping experience. When they happily tell us how they feel about the towels they purchased.

When I see these customers, I am genuinely happy and at the same time I feel that our towels can make so many people happy.

What I also feel while working at the Kyoto Store is that the customers who come to the store are truly wonderful people. They are cheerful and kind, and every time I meet them, I am filled with energy.

I believe that where you make things with honesty and deliver them with sincerity, wonderful people will naturally gather. I sometimes think about that.

I know it is a big dream, but I want people all over the world to know how wonderful IKEUCHI ORGANIC towels are, and I want as many people as possible to experience the good feeling of these towels.

I would like to take on various challenges in order to get as close as possible to such a future.

Incidentally, one of the dreams I would like to realize is to speak at my alma mater. Just as Mr. Masuda speaks at seminars hosted by various schools and companies, I hope to one day be able to speak about IKEUCHI ORGANIC to the students at my alma mater.

About IKEUCHI ORGANIC, towels, and the earth. I would like to spend each day carefully and do my work with my eyes on various things.

Interview August 2023
Interview and text by Keiji Ide
Photographer / Yuji Kimura