In the 80s and 90s I had lived as an expat in Japan for several years, spoke the language reasonably well and was going back and forth between the US and Japan five or six times each year for my own business. I considered myself a Japan expert.
I knew that the Japanese were very brand and style conscious so the first time someone told me that used clothing was the next big thing for Japan I told them they were wrong. Japanese never wore old or torn clothing and certainly would NEVER wear clothing that had been owned by others.
Two months later during a business trip to Japan, one of the buyers of a company I sold to asked me about “furugi”—used clothing. Flannel shirts, t-shirts with logos, Levi 501s, sweatshirts and a host of others. I dutifully went back to the US and visited a thrift store. I bought several samples and shipped them off to Japan thinking that would be the end of it as I KNEW Japanese would never buy used clothing.
Ten days later I received a fax with 20 items listed along with “200pcs each” and a price per piece that ranged from 5 to 10 times my cost.
Over the next three years the business grew to several hundred thousand dollars in annual sales.
I almost missed this profitable opportunity because I was more interested in being right than being open.
