Unifirst Co., Ltd.
A manufacturing company in downtown Tokyo that uses its “power of ideas” and “power of design” as its weapons. Participated in the “Asakusabashi Hansode General Election” for the second time with its city pop-style design. Looking back on its history of over 40 years since its establishment, fostering corporate culture and the local community. Contribute to revitalization
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Unifirst Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Taito-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Atsushi Hashimoto), which handles SP services related to planning and promotion support related to the manufacturing of miscellaneous goods, will continue from May 11th (Sat) to May 12th, 2024, as last year. We participated in the “Asakusabashi Hansode General Election 2024″ held at the 17th Asakusabashi Red and White Marronnier Festival on (Sunday) by entering an original design T-shirt.
“Asakusabashi Hansode General Election” is “Participating stores will enjoy summer by making original T-shirts, and the customers who are looking at them will also have fun, and in the end, by passing them through the Hansode (sleeves), they will be able to enjoy the summer. Starting in 2022, he will be walking around Asakusabashi with local company HI-CONDITION and local media with the aim of “enlivening the entire Asakusabashi town.” This is a town T-shirt exhibition co-hosted by. Our company entered the Asakusabashi Hansode General Election for the second time with an 80’s city pop style design reminiscent of the time when we were founded in 1981.
[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/53607/28/resize/d53607-28-c4f1b721ed74957d956f-0.jpg&s3=53607-28-557a9768742dae8ad1474458fab5ba53-800×534.jpg] Five employees who joined the company in April 2024 will wear T-shirts with original designs and participate in taking entry photos.
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/53607/28/resize/d53607-28-0eae69bb415bb7ad5700-1.jpg&s3=53607-28-7886f22f9e8cf11bfbc7a73f47e52e49-768×512.jpg] Participated in the “Asakusabashi Hansode General Election” for the second time with a city pop style design, contributing to the development of corporate culture and regional revitalization Our company has been engaged in manufacturing since its establishment in 1981, and has produced over 40,000 original products to date, leveraging our strengths in “idea power” and “design power,” and has developed plans and proposals based on our extensive experience. We have a wealth of know-how. We do not just provide products, but by drawing out and giving shape to our customers’ thoughts, we convey to society the joy and happiness of manufacturing, and strive to “continue to create a world that is one step ahead and exciting for everyone.” That’s what I’m aiming for.
[Image 3: https://prtimes.jp/i/53607/28/resize/d53607-28-23b096c540798546b7ad-2.jpg&s3=53607-28-6a6faf18a66e096dc8ec0892476a3884-1536×1536.jpg] This time, we incorporated the rich history of manufacturing that has spanned over 40 years since our establishment into the T-shirt design, and created the “Asakusabashi Red and White Marronnier Festival” held at the 17th Asakusabashi Red and White Marronnier Festival from Saturday, May 11th to Sunday, May 12th. I entered and participated in “Hansode General Election 2024″. The city pop-style design is reminiscent of the flashy and glamorous bubble era of the 1980s, when the company was founded, and symbolizes the changing times from Showa to Heisei to Reiwa. Five employees who joined the company in April of this year wore T-shirts with a Showa-era feel and looked lively as they posed for entry photos for the Hansode General Election. After that, we used our website, SNS, and email newsletter to proactively disseminate information both inside and outside the company and encourage online voting. The week after the Asakusabashi Hansode General Election ended, we received a report from the organizers that “this year’s total number of votes was 1,364, the highest ever”, and we were confident that we had made a major contribution to the excitement of the local event. .
For over 40 years, our company has continued to grow through many challenges and innovations. Representative Director and President Atsushi Hashimoto has a strong passion for passing on the company’s history to the next generation. We believe that by passing on these valuable experiences to the younger generation, we should promote product development that meets the needs of a new era and aim for sustainable growth as a company. By participating in this
“Asakusabashi Hansode General Election,” we are communicating the company’s identity and history to young people through T-shirts with designs reminiscent of the 1980s, and providing an opportunity for them to demonstrate new creativity.
[Image 4: https://prtimes.jp/i/53607/28/resize/d53607-28-da8f1782b3b3d8008fb3-3.jpg&s3=53607-28-ed62c6501a904a4f907c33ea50a666d1-750×430.jpg] There are five executives leading the company, and the third from the left is Atsushi Hashimoto, president and representative director. We also adopted T-shirts with the company’s history engraved on them as part of our employee uniforms. All employees plan to wear them during community clean-up activities and company events, which are important opportunities to strengthen team unity and foster corporate culture.
Our company aims to collaborate with local communities through internal and external events and contribute to the local community as a company. Our employees are particularly proud of our participation in the Asakusabashi Hansode general election, as it is an activity rooted in the local community. We aim to continue to grow together with the local community by conveying the values that have existed since our company’s founding to today and passing them on to the future.
43 years in downtown Tokyo, sales have more than tripled in 10 years with “idea power” and “design power” as weapons
Our company was founded in 1981 by the father of Atsushi Hashimoto, the current president and representative director, and initially engaged in silk screen printing for T-shirts. The company’s work was mainly related to apparel, but with the start of the J League in 1993, they started taking on contracts to make jumpers and other items for use at events. Contract manufacturing (OEM) for sports brands and sales promotions has become one of our main businesses to this day. The previous president said, “In competition with other companies, we differentiate ourselves based on the superiority and inferiority of our ideas and designs,” and he takes pride in saying, “We can’t lose to other companies when it comes to ideas. We are always one step or two ahead with ideas.” I did.
However, in May 2014, the previous president passed away due to acute heart failure, and Atsushi Hashimoto became the second president. We have achieved sustainable growth by further refining our existing strengths of “idea power” and “design power,” and by focusing on our “planning power” and “proposal power.” In particular, we are focusing on developing products and environmentally friendly materials that are conscious of SDGs. One of these is a wearable eco bag made from marine plastic waste.
The “wearable eco-bag” developed by our company is an original product that combines an eco-bag that helps reduce the use of plastic bags and support bibs, making it compatible with sports and contributing to the SDGs. The eco-bag has a zipper on the bottom, making it an
eco-friendly design that can be used as a bag when closed and as a bib or uniform when opened. We obtained a utility model patent in August 2019 and began accepting orders in October of the same year. Even though the entire sports-related industry has fallen into a slump due to the coronavirus pandemic, sales continue to grow steadily.
[Image 5: https://prtimes.jp/i/53607/28/resize/d53607-28-cf286cf199df8e95060b-4.jpg&s3=53607-28-acf54b51e58836280ab78ada1e23d3b1-649×657.jpg] Our conventional products were mainly made of polyester material, but as demand for SDGs-compliant products has increased, we are also focusing on proposing eco-friendly products that incorporate recycled materials (PET). In the summer of 2022, we have adopted the recycled fiber brand “REPREVE(R) Our Ocean” developed by UNIFI in the United States. “REPREVE(R) Our Ocean” fibers are made by collecting, cleaning, and processing discarded plastic bottles in the coastal areas of China and Southeast Asia (within 50 km of the coast), where plastic recycling systems are not in place. It is a sustainable material that can contribute to reducing marine plastic waste. The collaboration between the “wearable eco-bag”, a new standard of support goods that combines sports and ecology, and “REPREVE(R) Our Ocean”, a recycled fiber made from “ocean plastic waste”, will address the potential needs of customers. In response to this, we are further strengthening our proposals for environmentally friendly products. Additionally, we have strengthened our ability to communicate information, something we did not have under the previous president. We use our website, SNS, and email newsletters to help publicize new products. From August 2023, we will renew our official YouTube channel and introduce videos of our developed products that are difficult to convey in photos, including wearable eco bags. Furthermore, we strive to cultivate new customers by exhibiting at exhibitions two to three times a year. Sales are expected to increase from 1.4 billion yen in 2014 to 4.6 billion yen in 2024, more than tripling over the past 10 years.
[Image 6: https://prtimes.jp/i/53607/28/resize/d53607-28-0bb245b8659b01e37803-5.png&s3=53607-28-20edeb73c9eebd83dbd699f0e526c2e1-663×474.png ]
We will continue to leverage our strengths in developing high-quality products that are fun, easy to use, and last for a long time, and continue to pursue the creation of each customer’s desires, while addressing social and environmental issues and improving people’s lives. We aim to be a company that can contribute to
About Unifirst Co., Ltd.
A company that gives form to what we want to create, a company that contributes to society through creation.
Established in 1981. “Create products with unprecedented new value and provide people all over the world with the joy, happiness, and satisfaction of realizing what they want to create.” “Develop in harmony with society through unique corporate activities.” With the management mission of “Aiming to achieve the goal of achieving the desired goals,” we provide high-quality manufacturing through our unique planning capabilities and production system. Became a pioneer in the field of bags, pouches, and stuffed animals. In recent years, we have focused on environmentally friendly manufacturing and strengthened our product development system for companies interested in SDGs. With production bases in Japan, China, and Vietnam, we handle OEM goods for various domestic industries.
Company name: Unifirst Co., Ltd.
Representative: Atsushi Hashimoto, Representative Director and President Location: Unifirst Building, 3-4-3 Asakusabashi, Taito-ku, Tokyo TEL: 03-3865-5031
Established date: February 13, 1981
Capital: 98 million yen
URL: https://www.unifast.co.jp/
Business details: 1: “One-stop OEM service” from planning to delivery of original company goods and merchandise items
2: Development of idea products and own brand items related to SDGs/ESG 3: SP work related to corporate promotion support and in-store sales promotions More details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000028.000053607.html