Earning trust. It lies beyond respecting individuality.

This series, by Dentsu Inc. 'Company Design' team, explores the secrets behind 'vibrant companies' possessing 'originality.' In the 39th installment, we spoke extensively with Eiki Kobayashi, the third-generation president who carries on the Ginza Eikyokuya legacy today, about the challenges, joys, and romance of business succession.

Written by: Shinji Muto (Dentsu Inc. SCC)

Ginza Eikyokuya is, needless to say, a premier suit shop. Tradition, prestige, quality—it excels in every aspect. Its service is literally "spot on," with not a single flaw. Naturally, a premier brand selects premier customers. That's precisely why its threshold is incredibly high. And of course, the price tag... I used to hold the preconceived notion that suits, much like recruitment suits, are worn to "hide one's individuality." Isn't that the image of a suit? Given that image, what does this title mean? Even I, writing this now, never imagined I'd end up with such a title until I heard the story from the third-generation president, Hideki Kobayashi.

Brand, service, sustainability... These are words we use almost daily. Or rather, perhaps it's more accurate to say we're bound by them. Yet, President Kobayashi, who shoulders the immense legacy of Ginza Eikyokuya, shows no sign of such constraints. His expression, his manner of speaking—everything about him is bright and gentle. This young president, who spearheaded the revival of a long-established company, generously shared with us the "real-world management know-how, not found in textbooks, that was only reached through repeated failures."

Eiki Kobayashi: President and Representative Director, Ginza Eikyokuya. Born 1981. Graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Economics. After working at an IT company and in system implementation consulting/development, joined Ginza Eikyokuya. Appointed third-generation President and Representative Director in 2009 at age 28. Turned around the company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy (deposits at the time amounted to only 0.4 months' sales), leading it to its current state. Key experience includes serving as a guest lecturer at Hitotsubashi University MBA and Meiji University MBA programs (on organizational theory in business succession), serving as Chairman of the "Successor Development Consultation Association," and lecturing at the 100-Year Management Entrepreneurs Club. He has extensive experience supporting successors in managing businesses (including glass manufacturing, nursing care, cemeteries, and kindergartens).

His commitment: "Trustworthy" presentation

Pre-interview research revealed President Kobayashi's strong emphasis on the concept of "trust." Indeed, his website opens with the greeting, "To those who value trust." It's quintessentially Ginza Eikyokuya. So, at the start of our interview, I asked, "Is it about 'selling through trust' and 'cultivating that trust'?" "Selling based on trust doesn't quite sit right with me. I would say it's about providing attire that earns trust..." That was President Kobayashi's response.

The trust President Kobayashi values means providing attire that allows the customer themselves to earn trust in important situations with important people. Ah, I see. The subject of trust is different. That became clear first. What becomes crucial then, President Kobayashi explains, is understanding "In what kind of situation does the customer wish to earn the trust of what kind of person?" and "What attire is appropriate for the customer themselves, or for their company's brand?" "The core of Ginza Eikyokuya's service lies in how our stylists—the customer service representatives—draw out and discern those desires. This is multiplied by our fitting and sewing techniques, which approach each customer's physique with millimeter precision. This is the work of Ginza Eikyokuya."

Hearing this explanation, I was immediately overwhelmed and, at the same time, reminded of something. This resonates deeply with what I, as an advertising creator, think about every day. What I want to create isn't "Shinji Muto's work." It's about how deeply I can grasp the client's vision, how to express it, and how powerfully that expression moves people's hearts. Clothing and advertising... While the things we create are different, the underlying sentiment is exactly the same.

Confronting individuality. Everything begins there.

President Kobayashi took over the business as the third-generation successor at age 28. In the heat of his youth, amid tradition and prestige, there must have been countless clashes, conflicts, failures, and setbacks. When I asked about this, President Kobayashi shared: "Back then, I was desperate, convinced that if I didn't deliver results, no one would recognize my worth, no one would follow me. I studied cutting-edge management techniques with all my might. I boldly changed everything stuck in old ways, including personnel. I believed it was for Ginza Eikyokuya's sake. But things just wouldn't click. They wouldn't take root. At one point, I realized that in my desperation to fix things myself, I had failed to cherish 'individuality'."

The "individuality" President Kobayashi refers to is the essence of Ginza Eikyokuya. You could call it tradition. "A fellow executive told me, 'You're acting too high and mighty. You need to properly listen to the people who have supported this company.' I realized he was absolutely right. From then on, I focused on engaging with the employee (the former Vice President) who had supported the company for 40 years since graduating, and who understood the front lines best. I decided I wouldn't do anything this person wasn't on board with. Once I did that, things started moving smoothly."

The values mentioned at the beginning—"customer service, fitting, tailoring"—were always there for Ginza Eikyokuya, just never articulated. "By articulating them, we become conscious of their value. Without that awareness, the value eventually disappears. That's why I believe making it visible through articulation is crucial. Pricing that matches the visualized value. That builds employee confidence, leading to better work. Actually, starting this year, we even discontinued the summer sale (which had been a staple)." The word "corporation" crossed my mind. A company is made up of people. And people inherently possess individuality (personality). Recognizing this became the first step in Ginza Eikyokuya's revival and the engine driving its subsequent revitalization.

How to respect the individuality we encounter and build mutual trust

"New customers account for about 30% of Ginza Eikyokuya's sales. Considering it was around 20% five years ago, this proves that each employee respects and engages with every customer's individuality, whether new or regular," President Kobayashi continued. He added that achieving this was possible due to transforming the company culture to respect employee individuality.

The role of supervisors was redefined not as issuing orders, but as "supporting their subordinates' work." By respecting the individuality of frontline staff, the company has successfully boosted their motivation and sense of accomplishment. This fosters trust among employees and simultaneously builds the power to earn customer trust. Consequently, Ginza Eikyokuya delivers its unique identity – "attire that earns trust" – to customers, achieving the figures mentioned at the outset. The trust born from respecting individuality, President Kobayashi's discovery of this principle and his ability to ground it firmly both inside and outside the company—and the effortless manner in which he accomplished it—revealed his talent as a leader and naturally inspired respect.

What matters is not "results-based" but "behavior-based" evaluation

President Kobayashi's emphasis on "individuality" extends to internal evaluations. "Our company is transitioning from 'results-based evaluation' to 'action-based evaluation.' Frankly, factors like how much revenue was generated or how much profit margins were increased often depend heavily on luck when acquiring new customers. What truly matters is how persistently one experimented without giving up, and how effectively that experimentation was translated into action." For junior employees, their work evaluation hinges on "how much they dared to challenge things they wanted to try." For supervisors, it's "how much they supported their subordinates' challenges."

President Kobayashi says the same applies to employees in charge of hiring. "Take Uemura here (Ms. Uemura, our PR and recruitment manager, who joined our interview). We leave it entirely up to her discretion who to hire, how many to hire, and the methods and processes. There are no quotas like 'hire X number of people above a certain performance level.' If Uemura judges that a person's individuality seems likely to flourish at Ginza Eikyokuya, or that they can help nurture it, that becomes our company's judgment on that 'young talent'. Of course, we don't force anyone to join at any cost. We simply convey through Uemura, 'Please join us only after you truly understand Ginza Eikyokuya.'" This story clearly illustrates the company's thorough commitment to respecting individuality and the power of trust to motivate people.

What pleases us most is hearing customers say, "We feel secure with Ginza Eikyokuya."

This article took the form of seeking guidance from President Kobayashi on various perspectives: brand theory, service theory, business succession theory... At the end of the interview, President Kobayashi shared this comment: For Ginza Eikyokuya, the most gratifying thing is hearing customers say, "With Ginza Eikyokuya, I feel secure."

"(For customers) to gain trust in their work, what is a suit? Trust is born from respect for the other person. But that respect is hard to cultivate if you lack inner confidence. If you're thinking 'Is this outfit okay?', you won't have the composure to show respect. Ginza Eikyokuya suits are ones where people say '(Wearing them) gives me peace of mind.' Those words are the pride we should truly cherish."

Ginza Eikyokuya's website is here.

This series explores the secrets of "vibrant companies" possessing "originality," investigated by Dentsu Inc.'s "Company Design" team. In the 39th installment, we spoke with Eiki Kobayashi, the third-generation president who carries on the Ginza Eikyokuya name today, about the challenges, joys, and romance of business succession, spanning over 80 years since its founding.

Season 1 of the series can be found here:
The "Company Design" project site is here.

[Editor's Note]

At the end of the interview, I asked President Kobayashi about his attachment to the name "Ginza Eikyokuya." This is purely my personal view, but I feel that British people and the Japanese of the Meiji and Taisho eras share a striking similarity in their dignified demeanor and mentality (their outlook on life). I once worked with a British copywriter who, when translating Japanese, perfectly captured the unique "subtext" between the lines. That experience instantly deepened my affinity for "Britishness." Perhaps that's where this feeling stems from. I'm also drawn to the traditional kanji character for "country" (國).

When I conveyed the editor's thoughts (or perhaps assumptions) to President Kobayashi, his answer was remarkably simple. "We don't have any particular attachment to the shop name itself. I understand the first president named it out of the admiration Japanese people felt back then for 'imported goods' and 'the gentlemanly nation of Britain'. What truly matters is living up to the trust our customers place in that name."

Throughout the interview, President Kobayashi's words showed no wavering. His sincere, gentle manner of speaking, with his heart laid bare, felt as refreshing as the breeze rustling the willow branches in Ginza.