A store that can’t be
beaten by ‘online’

GLOBE SPECS was established in 1998 to introduce eyewear from around the world and has stores in Shibuya and Daikanyama. As GLOBE reached the milestone of its 20th anniversary this year, it was awarded the “BESTORE Award 2017” first prize at the MIDO international eyewear show in Milan, Italy. It was the first establishment not only in Japan but the whole of Asia, to achieve this.

Tetsuya Okada, in charge of the stores, can be said to be a leader amongst the world’s eyewear retailers. As such, we asked him what eyewear shops should have going forward.

“In some sense, the world of fashion moves ahead of the eyewear industry, so I often use it as a reference. Presently, in America, stores and brands that have become too big seem to be reaching an impasse. In the U.S., when you become big investors come, but then ‘professional’ managers with the priority of maximising profits for the investors arrive and in the end personality and uniqueness are diluted. Previously, when owners ran stores, it was with the ‘owner’s philosophy’. It was different. As things get bigger, even though they might be run in a similar way to how they were run before, the philosophy and goals are different, so something feels out of place and off balance, I think.”

“Conversely, smaller places with unique American characteristics are doing well. It’s these stores that won’t lose against E-commerce (EC) online sites. In other words, people want to go to stores that have an attraction.”

“If you simply want to get a product, we now live in an age where the Internet has become enormously convenient. For glasses, there are now websites where you can simply take a snap of your face for simulations of how frames will look, and then purchase them online.”

So, how about the online-beating stores that Okada san has created?

“The time and process involved in choosing glasses: shopping, coming to the store… These things in themselves must be enjoyable. Time taken at the store and the time taken to choose… I think it’s important that the shopping experience itself becomes an ”event”. If it’s not a store like that, you’ll lose to online. There has to be something that’s unobtainable unless you actually come to the stores.”

I want to make that feeling of “being moved“ important.

“…the shopping experience itself becomes an ‘event’.” How does Okada san go about making such a store?

“A few days ago, I was in Mexico, and before that Portland and Philadelphia… I go to countries and local areas that aren’t necessarily connected with eyewear. I just choose a place and fly there [laughs]. More than looking for something, it’s coincidence; it’s a discovery or something that affects me deeply. These things become helpful later.”

“And it’s not just eyewear stores – I get a lot of inspiration from other areas such as clothing stores and restaurants.

Of course, these experiences are all put to work at GLOBE SPECS. That’s why the stores have been created so uniquely. In addition to the items that Okada san has collected from all over the world: furniture, musical instruments, small pieces – various artwork, ikebana flower arrangement and the creative direction of Sy Yu Chen all contribute.

“The shops and their workings were not precisely planned from the beginning. They developed through a sort of series of sessions in which we freely adjusted things.”

“Right now, there’s something I learned from the chef of a Mexican restaurant. He, on finding out that Japanese customers had come, decided to use matsutake mushrooms - something he wouldn’t usually serve - in cooking our meal. The chef came to our table and told us, “It’s because you’re Japanese that I’ve used matsutake mushrooms, you know!” I was really moved. It made me think again, “What can I do to make my customers happy?”

“Recently, I often say to the staff here, “To make a deep impression on our customers, let’s really recommend, from the heart, the glasses that suit them best.” It’s analogue thinking in online times, but I want to make that feeling of ‘being moved’ important.”

Out of the 1000 stores worldwide that put themselves forward for the BESTORE Award 2017, GLOBE SPECS came out on top. In their evaluations, the judges highlighted how creativity and a sense of the times had been brought out in the store spaces, and that an overall shopping experience never found before had been achieved. Underlying all of this, was a feeling of ‘being moved’.