Charcoal Tokyo is a unique new store that proposes pocket T-shirts from an urban air pocket.
Hiroo in Minato-ku is known as one of the best high society towns in Tokyo. In October 2018, Charcoal TOKYO quietly opened its doors in a corner of this adult town. The heavyweight who has been at the heart of the popular select store for a long time and has set up numerous booms and hit items, and the signature staff member who has been at the forefront of bringing them to the world. These two men have teamed up to present a pocket T-shirt. Of course, this is more than just a pocket T-shirt, as these two men are veterans of a hundred battles and have mastered both the sweet and sour sides of the clothing industry. The small but deep forest of this remarkable new store, which stands out for its individuality, is full of charm that you will not be able to escape from as soon as you step into it.
Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1966. He started working part-time at "BEAMS" as a student and joined the opening staff of the first "UNITED ARROWS" store in Shibuya in 1990. He subsequently held various important positions, including merchandiser, merchandise manager, sales manager, and general manager of the business development division. After serving as a senior executive officer, he was appointed president and representative director of "Cohen" in 2009.' In 2006, he became independent and opened the store "Charcoal Tokyo.
Manager/Buyer, Charcoal Tokyo Takei Ryo
Born in Chiba Prefecture in 1972.' In 1992, he became a store staff member of "UNITED ARROWS" and in 2006, he became the manager of the first "Beauty & Youth UNITED ARROWS" store in Yurakucho. After that, he worked for various labels developed by the company, and became a well-known staff member trusted by many customers and the media. In 2006, he became independent and participated in the opening of Charcoal Tokyo. Although he has been slacking off lately, he has been working on his own.Blog in HOUYHNHNM'salso popular.
I love it so much, I finally opened a pocket T-shirt clothing store.
First of all, please tell us about the concept of your store.
wooden valleyFirst of all, the store name "Charcoal" refers to the color charcoal gray. The color is an essential element of fashion, and its origin is that it is neither black nor white, but a color that gives a soft impression. It also means that the store aims to be useful to customers as a convenient "charcoal" that can be used to warm up, heat food, purify water and air, and so on. Charcoal is a reusable material made from wood that has been burned to the point of no longer being useful for its original purpose of existence. Since I opened my own business when I was in my 50s, I am also projecting my desire to be useful to the world again, even though my age has once died out.
military affairsSpecifically, the most significant theme is pocket T-shirts. We want more people of all genders and ages to enjoy pocket T-shirts.
wooden valleyAlthough already a popular item, it is by no means mainstream, since the standard is still the pocketless type.
military affairsThe T-shirt itself is said to have originated as underwear supplied by the U.S. military. The most attractive feature of pocket T-shirts is that they are functional. They are convenient for storing small things and can be a casual eye-catcher. The best thing we can do is to make this more and more popular.
wooden valleyWith the pocket T-shirt as the core, we offer seven categories of goods essential to people's lives: the first is pocket T-shirts; the second is "headwear" such as hats; the third is "rolls" such as stoles, scarves, and tenugui hand towels; the fourth is "footwear" such as sandals and socks; the fifth is "bags" such as bags and socks; the sixth is "things to wear" based on set-ups; and the seventh is a lineup of small items that we hope will become "treasures" for customers. The fifth is "bags" such as bags and drawstring bags, the sixth is "clothing" based on set-ups, and the seventh is a lineup of small items that can fit in the breast pocket of a T-shirt, with the hope that they will become "treasures" for our customers. We call these items "seven tools.
The fact that pocket T-shirts are the main focus is a very unique lineup that seems unprecedented. What is the reason for placing pocket T-shirts as the main lineup?
wooden valleyIt's simply an item that I myself have always liked. I have worn it so naturally that I have never thought about the reason for it, and I have not worn a T-shirt without pockets for so long that I have no memory left of it (laughs). (Laughs) So, looking back over the past 30 years of my career, almost all of the T-shirts I have been involved in from the planning stage have had pockets. Also, for some reason, many of the people involved in the brands and stores that I have worked with over the years are also pocket T-shirt enthusiasts. Especially in our apparel industry, Mr. Shimizu (Keizo Shimizu, founder of the long-established select store "Nepenthes" and designer of the brand "Needles") is said to be the originator of the pocket T-shirt, and I am no less fond of pocket T-shirts (laughs).
military affairsI started out with a pocket T-shirt I bought when I was a student. It was a black T-shirt made in the U.S.A. with a nice thick fabric and texture, but as I wore it and washed it a lot, the color faded and the look was strangely cool. I fell in love with it from there. When Itaya was involved in product planning at a select store and was producing original pocket T-shirts in the U.S., I really bought a lot of them. However, I am not as biased as Itaya, and I also wear T-shirts without pockets as long as they are printed. However, when it comes to plain T-shirts, I overwhelmingly wear those with pockets.
wooden valleyAlso for myself, due to my uncle being a clothing importer, I have been familiar with pocket T-shirts since I was a child. With pockets, they seemed a dressy alternative to collared shirts, and seemed a step up from pocketless shirts. At the same time, I was also attracted to the way musicians and movie stars wore them casually, so I had a vague image of them as an item for adults in my childhood. It was this longing that made me fall completely in love with pocket T-shirts. I think that pocket T-shirts can be worn with elegant suits without any difficulty. In my heart, I would like to offer such suits in our lineup, but Takei adamantly opposed the idea, saying, "They won't sell! (cries). (Crying) Well, we will look for an opportunity and handle them in due course.
So you don't carry T-shirts without pockets?
wooden valleyYes, we do not handle them as a store policy. There are items that we are so stubborn that we forcefully add pockets to them (laughs). We remake vintage rock T-shirts by cutting out the chest and forcibly adding pockets. Some designs have two pockets stacked on top of each other.
What are the features and specialties of the store's house brand "ORIGINAL Charcoal" pocket T-shirts?
wooden valleySo far there are five types of fabrics. The most basic is an American-looking fabric made of thicker yarns of U.S. cotton. On the other hand, there is a high-gauge knit-like type knitted from high-quality Supima cotton with a smooth and elegant sheen, which looks elegant when worn alone by women. In addition, there is a super-soft fabric with a brushed feel, a yarn-lined fabric that looks like a thin sweatshirt, and a waffle material. Using these fabrics, we offer short-sleeved and long-sleeved pocket T-shirts, as well as hoodies, cardigans, and other woven items.
military affairsNaturally, as part of the "Original Charcoal" identity, the iconic breast pocket is attached to more than just the T-shirt.
ORIGINAL Charcoal T-shirts ¥9,000+tax each
This is a piece made of American cotton, the most standard among the many original materials. The moderate dry touch and good texture of the fabric remind one of an authentic American T-shirt. The slightly irregularly overlapping W pocket on the left chest is not only convenient, but also adds a light accent to the look. The subtlety of the one-point logo printed in the same color as the body is also very adult-oriented. A total of seven colors are available in a full range of variations.
Except for the T-shirts, almost everything is a set-up, almost everything is a special order.
The pocket T-shirt is the star of this original item. The selection of supporting items is also very aggressive. For example, almost all of the "what to wear" items are set-ups, which I think is also conceptual.
wooden valleySince we cannot compete with major select stores and department stores in terms of lineup variety, we wanted our customers to enjoy a different kind of assortment. To this end, we aim for a genderless and ageless lineup, with pocket T-shirts and set-ups available in a wide range of sizes from XS to XXXL, including XXS for some items, to accommodate men, women, and all body types, with unisex designs for both men and women in mind.
military affairsSince we are men, our women's items are also menswear-like, but we have received more favorable comments from women than we expected.
wooden valleyWe want our products to be worn for a long time, so we also emphasize quality. With the exception of imported brands and vintage goods, we focus on made-in-Japan products. After all, there is no better material or sewing than made in Japan.
It is also surprising that all the selected items are basically special orders. Moreover, they are all from leading domestic and international brands such as "Needles," "Engineered Garments," "South to West Eight," "TS," "Old Park," "Propper," "HTC," and more.
NEEDLES×Charcoal TOKYO Jacket ¥27,000+TAX Pants ¥21,000+TAX
A customized version of Needles' signature track jacket and pants. The jacket has been changed to a hooded style, which is not normally used, and the bottoms have been arranged to an eighth-length that can be layered with spats or coordinated with socks. The embroidery of the brand's icon and the side lines are also unified in the same color as the body with less assertiveness. This item can be worn not only as a set-up, but also as a stand-alone item for both the top and bottom.
wooden valleyThe criteria for selecting a brand is based on the premise that it has a unisex design and taste, and whether or not it is willing to accept a special order. Therefore, some brands were difficult to order separately and we gave up on them in tears. And since we are planning to create a set-up to go with the pocket T-shirts, many of the brands have originally produced their own pocket T-shirts. Therefore, it is easy to communicate with brands about the compatibility of the pocket T-shirts during the special order meeting, and the process goes smoothly, resulting in a more wonderful finished product. However, a store is a living organism, and it is necessary to constantly renew itself. We plan to vigorously develop new brands in the future.
Why do you insist on special orders for everything instead of the usual inline selections?
wooden valleyIt is a special feeling that can only be found here. We want our customers to enjoy the experience of shopping, including the time, space, and conversation with our staff, when they visit our store. Of course, we do not deny online shopping, and we would like to work on online sales in the future if a system is in place. Currently, we still support old-fashioned mail order sales over the phone. So we are by no means taking an exclusive stance.
military affairsI started working in the fashion industry a quarter of a century ago. Naturally, the Internet was not as widespread as it is today, so stores gathered together with many people to exchange information, not only about fashion, but also about music, art, culture, interesting places and things to do, good restaurants, and so on. It was a place where you could not only buy clothes, but also get all kinds of information. More than anything else, the stores shone brightly, and I would like to revalue and give form to that charm.
wooden valleySuch attractiveness attracts people even today, and we thought that Hiroo, with its relatively slow pace of life, would be a good place to enjoy such interaction as well. If the store doesn't shine first, people won't be tempted to buy online, and conversely, if the actual store is cool, they will be tempted to buy online as well. It is certainly convenient, especially for today's busy people, to be able to do shopping with a single click, but that alone is not very tasty, and shopping can become an inorganic process.
military affairsWe also sell vintage accessories in the store, which are also selected from the viewpoint of "only available here. We also sell original wallets and Indian jewelry ordered from Navajo artists. However, since turquoise types of Indian jewelry are available at other stores, we do not carry any of them here. Instead, we have them use a material called "charcoal," which is a fossilized wood called jet, in reference to the store's name "charcoal," or charcoal. In the future, we plan to enhance such "treasures" as well.
Do you decide the composition of such products together?
wooden valleyThat's right. However, there are many times when I propose an item that I would like to carry, only to receive an NG from Takei (tears).
military affairsSince I have been standing on the store floor for many years, I have a sense of what is possible only in the field, and my experience of listening to the real voices of customers is an asset for me, and I often make decisions based on this experience. Also, since I am somewhat younger than Itaya, I take pride in my skill to grasp the sense of the times and generation, and Itaya respects that.
With winter coming, it will be the very season of winter (i.e., slow sales) for T-shirts, but do you have any secret measures for this?
wooden valleyThe main items will be those using the suspended-lining fabric that I mentioned by name earlier. However, even in the cold season, we want you to think that "you can always buy pocket T-shirts at Charcoal all year round," so we will always have enough volume to welcome you throughout the year, without fail even in winter.
military affairsFor the time being, we do not carry heavy outerwear such as down jackets this year, even in the middle of winter. We will leave that to other stores, and hope to focus on items that can be worn with mid-layers and innerwear. I am also thinking of proposing a super layered style (laughs).
wooden valleyWe carry worsted and flight satin items, so if you layer up in those areas, you should be able to get up to a certain level of cold (sweat).
Opened a store in Hiroo to offer the best of the store and its ideal form.
I sensed some kind of aim in opening a store in Hiroo, which is known as a quiet and sophisticated area, rather than a so-called fashion area.
military affairsIn a battleground district where fashion stores are rife, a small store like ours would be buried in the crowd. As I mentioned earlier, one of the other reasons is that we wanted to create a space where customers can enjoy shopping in a relaxed atmosphere, such as while conversing with our staff.
wooden valleyNeedless to say, the distance from the nearest station was also important. The location is only a 3-minute walk straight from Hiroo Station, which is perfectly accessible, and there is a parking area with parking meters along Gaien Nishi Dori Street, which runs in front of the restaurant, making it convenient for customers to come by car. This kind of location is quite rare in Tokyo, so it was also a deciding factor for us.
Stereotypically, people who live in or pass through Hiroo do not have much of an image of wearing pocket T-shirts in the first place.
wooden valleyLooking at the trends in the world, I think that more and more people will not need collared shirts in the future. This will probably lead to an even greater focus on T-shirts as daily wear. This means that the pocket T-shirts that I have been wearing since I was a child, with their slightly dressy and mature mood, may be accepted by a wider range of people.
military affairsIn fact, many people who live or work in the neighborhood wander in and take a peek. The other day, a woman in her 20s who lives nearby came in to buy a present for her boyfriend. The area between Hiroo Station and the store is commonly known as "Golf Street," and until now it was an area where there were only golf stores, so we are sometimes told that she is happy to see a fashion store like this one.
wooden valleyWe are sure that there are people who are looking for this kind of casual fashion, and we are off to a good start. We are confident that if we gain more recognition in the future, we will be able to attract a wider range of customers.
It's been about two months since the restaurant opened, how is the response from customers?
military affairsSince we just opened, we have many friends, acquaintances, and relations visiting us, but we are also seeing more and more people from the neighborhood interested in coming in. We also have repeat customers. We have customers of both genders, mainly in their 20s and 30s, as well as customers in their 50s, and due to the location, we also have a few celebrities. They come to us by word of mouth, by passing by the store and taking a peek, or by finding out about us on social networking sites.
wooden valleyHowever, when two middle-aged men with shaved heads stand in a row, I unwillingly feel strangely intimidated...so I am careful not to stand with them in a storefront (laughs).
You both worked for large stores for many years. What do you think are the strengths and attractions of a small, individual store that are different from those you have worked with in the past?
wooden valleyFootwork and flexibility are vital. We have two female staff members, but because we are small and small in number, we can make quick decisions on anything, and we can move quickly and turn a small corner. We are able to respond quickly and flexibly to what we think and what our customers want, which is one of our strengths because we are an individual store. I hope to be closer to our customers by utilizing what I learned at my previous store, which is ingrained in my body, and by breaking down where we break down.
military affairsThis is more of a personal interest of mine than a strength of an individual store, but it is refreshing to have a handmade feel that you don't find in larger organizations. Unlike a division of labor system where there are many departments, each with its own role, we are responsible for everything from upstream to downstream, including the branding of the store, the product lineup, buying, customer service, directly handing out products to customers, and even chores such as arranging garbage collection companies. This is what gives us a sense of responsibility as "our store" and makes it worthwhile and enjoyable. We do not have a customer service manual like large stores, so we feel close to our customers, and we can interact with them in an at-home atmosphere as if they were visiting our home, even if they are only visiting us for the first time.
What are your goals and vision for the store in the future?
wooden valleyAlthough it is a small store in a corner of Hiroo, we would like to use it as a starting point to evangelize the pocket T-shirt throughout Japan. And we would like to become the "Pocket T-shirt = Charcoal. First of all, we would like to establish a foothold as a store that boasts the largest variety of pocket T-shirts in Tokyo.
military affairsOur goal now is to increase recognition. Although my previous store was a major company with stores all over Japan, it is not possible to become a major player in a short period of time, as we started out on a small scale and continued to expand steadily. Therefore, we would like to work steadily and try to provide products and customer service that will make customers who visited our store once come back again. I would like to warm this store carefully and nurture it carefully.
Charcoal Tokyo
Address: MA Bldg. 1F, 4-2-48 Minamiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-6432-5267
Open: 12:00 - 20:00
From January 4 (Fri.): 11:00 - 20:00 (Mon. - Sat.), 11:00 - 19:00 (Sun. - Holidays) Open year round
Year-end and New Year holidays: December 30, 2018 (Sun.) - January 3, 2019 (Thu.) charcoal-ltd.co.jp
