My discomfort with “Selling Stories

My name is Ikeuchi, Representative Director of IKEUCHI ORGANIC.

From now on, I will be writing about what I am thinking about in IKEUCHI ORGANIC’s notebook.

This time, I would like to talk about my discomfort with the idea of “selling stories.

Lately, there are many business and marketing books that say, “Sell the story, not the product. However, every time I see this kind of expression, I feel a bit confused.

We are not trying to say that selling stories is wrong, but anyway, we would like to say that it is not.

The most important thing for us is to “make things well.

The products themselves, our attitude toward manufacturing, and the way we deliver them will ultimately become the “story” of the company.

I learned this way of thinking at Technics, where I worked before Ikeuchi Towel.

At that time, Technics had a clear basic concept when it came to audio production. Respect for musicians means “faithful reproduction of the original sound,” which means reproducing the sound as it comes in. To achieve this, we were always aiming for the world’s best sound quality. Our motto in manufacturing is to create products that our customers can be proud of when their sound quality is converted into numerical values.

However, few customers can look at the numerical data of sound quality and understand how great it is. For most people, explanations that appeal to their emotions, such as “famous musicians use this product” or “the audio is like a musical instrument,” are more likely to resonate.

Audiophiles like myself, however, are still looking for logical support. No matter how many good words and expressions are used to explain, if they are not backed up by technical values, it feels like a play on words. The best respect for musicians is to reproduce the original sound faithfully.

We want to create something that will make these audiophiles roar.

With this single-minded focus, Technics evolved. The story of Technics was born in the way we achieved impossible figures, and our fans have followed us ever since.

A story that does not evolve does not inspire, and it does not raise the tension of the manufacturing process.

IKEUCHI ORGANIC has inherited this concept.

There are towel enthusiasts just like audiophiles. We will never run away from making products that impress towel enthusiasts. This is our creed.

That is why IKEUCHI ORGANIC’s product catalog always clearly states the yarn count, which indicates the thickness of the yarn used, and the pile ratio, which indicates the length of the pile yarn.

To be honest, there are only a handful of customers who know the yarn count and pile ratio. However, that does not mean we should turn away from them.

Looking back on the history of Ikeuchi, we have had a series of battles with enthusiasts. That battle continues to this day. But in a way, I feel that our craftsmanship has been enhanced thanks to such strict scrutiny.

We intend to continue to deliver products that will surprise enthusiasts.

Currently, Ikeuchi is developing a new product, “Organic 1120,” that will break the conventional towel mold.

It is based on our standard product, the Organic 120, and is designed with the next 20 years in mind. We finally completed one prototype the other day, and it turned out to be terrific.

However, the craftsmen at the factory told us, “We managed to make one prototype, but we can’t possibly produce enough for many customers to use.

However, they encouraged us, saying, “Since we were able to weave one sheet, we can make it happen by applying our ingenuity and ingenuity. There is no reason why we can’t make it happen.

After all, our first priority is to make our customers happy through our manufacturing. If they empathize with the stories that are created as a result of our efforts, then we have nothing to say.

We do not want to sell stories, but rather to create stories naturally.

This is what we are aiming for.

No one will be moved by a story with a visible conclusion, and we will continue to work hard with the conviction that the constant search for a story will give birth to a beautiful story.