How to Spend Money Wisely: Better to Buy Something Good That Will Last


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I’m sure the king of shoes is John Lobb

The king of beasts is a lion. The king of fruits is a durian. What do you think the king of shoes is? I believe it would be John Lobb. It may have not yet become common sense like the rankings of animals and fruits, but I expect I’m not the only one who thinks that way. They are the symbol of strength, stylishness, and smartness, though it may be influenced a lot by James Bond. These days, I’m into YouTube videos of shoe repair, where I saw John Lobb shoes were repaired to be so beautiful as if they were new. I feel like I understand why they are called the king of shoes.

We are forced to seek out the best price buy

As I wrote sometimes ago, I’m not so interested in things and owning things. It would be inevitable for anyone in the age of plenty, and so, sharing economy would be the necessary result. This is what I believed, but I recently found the article that made me stop and think. I remembered the words in the article while watching John Lobb shoes be reborn in the video. It’s the article by Rose Marcario, ex-CEO of Patagonia, titled “Repair Is a Radical Act.” She argues customers (product-consumers not owners, to be more precise) are forced to seek out the best price buy by most companies making cheap stuff that breaks right away and must be replaced quickly.

Rose concludes her article with the following words “And as businesses, we have a responsibility to make higher quality products to help reclaim the act of ownership: make parts accessible and repair easy.” We feel tense as one of manufacturers, taking pride in having been fulfilling the responsibility, though. Our furniture is designed to last for decades, and we provide repair service as well. As transportation costs (and carbon footprint from the transportation) are considered, our own repair service is not feasible outside Japan, but I think your local furniture repair shops will help you use our furniture over some generations.


Shungo Ijima

He is travelling around the world. His passion is to explain Japan to the world, from the unique viewpoint accumulated through his career: overseas posting, MBA holder, former official of the Ministry of Finance.


Photo Credit: https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/james-bond-s-my-london-8215436.html


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