Manufacturing stance
Kikuboshi’s DNA
Kikuboshi’s DNA can be expressed in four terms: Sincere, Particularity, Spirit of challenge, and Creativity. All four of these characteristics originated in the personality of Kikuboshi’s founder, who pursued product development with an indefatigable spirit of inquiry and unshakable conviction. Subsequently, our founder’s philosophy stayed with the company, so that even today, some 100 years later, we place great importance on our founder’s DNA in our product production. The following is an excerpt of a text written by our founder regarding manufacturing.
“Products that do not have live are not worth targeting for sale. When developing products, research thoroughly until you are completely satisfied, down to the minute elements that cannot be seen with the naked eye. You must not be satisfied with anything less than a products that is excellent among excellence; that is perfect and faultless; and that can show its true value every time it is used. Only when passion and capability are concentrated and all life and spirit poured into a product is a Kikuboshi product born.”
By carrying on and further polishing our founder’s philosophies such as this, Kikuboshi has created many innovations.
Furthermore, although customers’ needs have changed with the times, Kikuboshi has constantly carried out product development that is relevant and appropriate for each era. When the company was first established, we began manufacturing scissors and razors. As our products gain a reputation for good quality, we expanded our manufacturing to include combs and brushes in addition to edged tools, and we began development of cosmetics in earnest during the 1940s.
Innovations created by our founder
Kikuboshi’s founder continually created a diversity of unique, patentable products including cosmetics, scissors, electrical products, steamers, and chairs. Why did he develop products in such a broad range of fields? Well, during the 1920s, there were few products on the market that truly satisfied customers. Through the creation of products in various beauty-related fields ranging from cosmetics through miscellaneous beauty products to beauty equipment, Kikuboshi has accumulated a wealth of know-how and confidence related to manufacturing that we draw on today.
Kikuboshi’s particularity
Beauty professionals (barbers, hair stylists, beauticians, make-up artists, estheticians, eyelash artists) use their hands fully in providing services. Accordingly, their sense of touch is highly sensitive, to the extent that they are capable of sensing micro-sized differences. For example, powder comprising the raw materials of cosmetic products is carefully selected through repeated testing, regardless of whether the particle size, shape, distribution are too small to be seen by the naked eye. We are certain that the hands of professionals are more accurate than machines, and so in order to provide product quality that will satisfy such professionals, what we are most particular about in manufacturing products is being particular about all aspects of manufacturing.