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▼ Buying Experiences / Customization Captures The Minds of Youth
- Category:Experience
This is the fourth installment of a series.
An increasing number of retailers are offering customization services at reasonable prices in response to a consumer trend of creating original fashion items.
At a workshop organized by jeans manufacturer Betty Smith, university students Yuta Moriyama and Miyuki Fukuromoto were discussing which buttons to choose for their jeans from a huge selection of options, with comments overheard such as, “Everything is so cute,” or “Is this too common?”
Betty Smith customers can customize jeans at a facility adjacent to the factory at its headquarters in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. They can select buttons, rivets and patches, among other items, to add to their jeans.
A variety of buttons, including some carved with designs of a lizard or a warrior’s helmet, rivets in a range of colors, including red or sky blue, and patches depicting famous characters are available to choose from, with 30 to 50 varieties of each accessory.
Moriyama, 21, and Fukuromoto, 22, finally chose the same kind of buttons in different colors and added identical rivets. They both arranged the accessories in the same way on their jeans.
“You can add a special touch of originality, while getting an item that’s good value for money,” Moriyama said.
Popularity by word of mouth
The jeans-making workshop started in 2010 and gained popularity by word of mouth because of the reasonable prices, with pairs starting at ¥7,500. Currently, about 4,000 people visit annually to customize their jeans.
“Customers can add their individual tastes to domestically sewn products with fabric made in Japan, which appeals to young people,” said Kazuji Nishiyama, the company’s managing director.
Unlike custom-made products, which are usually designed from scratch for an individual, customization reflects the current trend of adapting ready-made items without the long wait and high costs.
Some mass-producing companies offer a wide range of options for customization to meet individuals’ different tastes — so-called “mass customization.”
Sense of individuality
According to Seiji Endo, a professor of marketing theory at Tokai University, the start of customer customization in Japan dates back to about 30 years ago when some manufacturers started allowing customers to choose the colors and designs of some product features — such as the wheels and seats of a car.
“[Customization] suits Japanese consumers who want to express a sense of individuality without standing out,” he said.
Such ideas about product customization have become more common in the fashion world these days.
Adidas Japan K.K., for example, offers a customization service for its sneakers. In 2002, the major sporting goods retailer launched an in-store project called Mi Adidas, in which customers could select the color of the leather, fabric and shoelaces, among other choices, based on the 60 standard sneaker models.
The firm started accepting online orders via the Mi Adidas website in 2012, attracting an increasing number of users, especially those in their 20s to 40s. Many of the customized sneakers cost roughly from ¥10,000 to ¥20,000.
On the Mi Adidas website, customers can view an image of what their customized sneaker will look like before confirming the purchase.
“We are receiving an increasing number of orders from people who want to get products different from off-the-shelf sneakers,” an Adidas spokesperson said.
Young consumers, who have been raised using computer games and communication devices since childhood, have ample experience customizing various kinds of products and services.
“Customization is familiar to them, and they have naturally taken to [fashion customization],” Endo said.
In an era when consumer sales are down, mass customization seems to have successfully captured the attention of young consumers.
An increasing number of retailers are offering customization services at reasonable prices in response to a consumer trend of creating original fashion items.
At a workshop organized by jeans manufacturer Betty Smith, university students Yuta Moriyama and Miyuki Fukuromoto were discussing which buttons to choose for their jeans from a huge selection of options, with comments overheard such as, “Everything is so cute,” or “Is this too common?”
Betty Smith customers can customize jeans at a facility adjacent to the factory at its headquarters in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. They can select buttons, rivets and patches, among other items, to add to their jeans.
A variety of buttons, including some carved with designs of a lizard or a warrior’s helmet, rivets in a range of colors, including red or sky blue, and patches depicting famous characters are available to choose from, with 30 to 50 varieties of each accessory.
Moriyama, 21, and Fukuromoto, 22, finally chose the same kind of buttons in different colors and added identical rivets. They both arranged the accessories in the same way on their jeans.
“You can add a special touch of originality, while getting an item that’s good value for money,” Moriyama said.
Popularity by word of mouth
The jeans-making workshop started in 2010 and gained popularity by word of mouth because of the reasonable prices, with pairs starting at ¥7,500. Currently, about 4,000 people visit annually to customize their jeans.
“Customers can add their individual tastes to domestically sewn products with fabric made in Japan, which appeals to young people,” said Kazuji Nishiyama, the company’s managing director.
Unlike custom-made products, which are usually designed from scratch for an individual, customization reflects the current trend of adapting ready-made items without the long wait and high costs.
Some mass-producing companies offer a wide range of options for customization to meet individuals’ different tastes — so-called “mass customization.”
Sense of individuality
According to Seiji Endo, a professor of marketing theory at Tokai University, the start of customer customization in Japan dates back to about 30 years ago when some manufacturers started allowing customers to choose the colors and designs of some product features — such as the wheels and seats of a car.
“[Customization] suits Japanese consumers who want to express a sense of individuality without standing out,” he said.
Such ideas about product customization have become more common in the fashion world these days.
Adidas Japan K.K., for example, offers a customization service for its sneakers. In 2002, the major sporting goods retailer launched an in-store project called Mi Adidas, in which customers could select the color of the leather, fabric and shoelaces, among other choices, based on the 60 standard sneaker models.
The firm started accepting online orders via the Mi Adidas website in 2012, attracting an increasing number of users, especially those in their 20s to 40s. Many of the customized sneakers cost roughly from ¥10,000 to ¥20,000.
On the Mi Adidas website, customers can view an image of what their customized sneaker will look like before confirming the purchase.
“We are receiving an increasing number of orders from people who want to get products different from off-the-shelf sneakers,” an Adidas spokesperson said.
Young consumers, who have been raised using computer games and communication devices since childhood, have ample experience customizing various kinds of products and services.
“Customization is familiar to them, and they have naturally taken to [fashion customization],” Endo said.
In an era when consumer sales are down, mass customization seems to have successfully captured the attention of young consumers.
- January 30, 2017
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