What it means to be number one.

We will be the best sofa manufacturer in Japan."

This is a thought that my executive director and I have shared since the company's founding.

So, why the obsession with number one? To unravel this, we can go back more than 30 years, to the time when I started working after graduating from university. At that time, the bubble economy was just beginning, and I remember that there were pioneering students who graduated from science departments but entered banks and trading companies.

In the chemistry department where I was enrolled, many of my outstanding classmates went on to work for conglomerates. However, I have heard that they had a difficult time because of the subsequent mergers. Even if you win the fierce competition to move up the ladder, it is no longer a matter of your ability if the organization you are working for is absorbed in a merger or other such event. Therefore, it is important to keep your ability in mind.

Do I have to be number one?" My conclusion to the question, "Does it have to be number one?

If you're not number one, you won't survive."

It will be difficult for a company to survive unless it continues to work hard until it becomes number one, even if it cannot become number one immediately. We cannot continue as an organization unless we are the best in Japan in terms of design, quality, cost performance, and brand, and we cannot become a stable company unless we have the ability and enthusiasm to challenge the world.

TRES THE SOFA TAILOR IS A FLEDGLING BRAND OPERATED BY A SMALL ORGANIZATION, T'S MOBIL CO. IT HAS ONLY THREE DIRECTLY MANAGED STORES. EVEN SO, THE HOPE OF "BECOMING THE BEST SOFA MANUFACTURER IN JAPAN" AND "CHALLENGING THE WORLD" BY EXHIBITING AT THE SALONE DEL MOBILE IN MILAN, WHICH WERE SET FORTH 18 YEARS AGO WHEN THE COMPANY WAS FOUNDED, HAS NOT DIMINISHED IN THE SLIGHTEST, AND WE ARE FEELING MORE AND MORE CONFIDENT ABOUT OUR FUTURE.

Quality, including design, is what supports our challenges. Quality is our starting point and lifeline.

We hope you will all look forward to our future.