Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 518 The Future is Uniqlo
A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting in a nearby shop. Yanai sat opposite the two of them and explained his request in detail.

"That's quite detailed, but if I may be frank, Tokyo Garment is an established company, and I can't see what competitive advantage your company has over it."

Yanai was about to speak but stopped.

Yes, compared to Tokyo Garment, they are indeed not very competitive. After all, they are not as large as Tokyo Garment, their factory reputation is not as good, not to mention their brand name.

It seems that taking this piece of meat will not be an easy task.

Right across from him, Kadokawa Haruki suddenly raised his hand and secretly nudged Gu Ming, then quickly began to sketch.

Gu Ming remained calm and composed, simply absorbing the essence of the characters written by Haruki Kadokawa and experiencing the strokes of the brush.

"This guy is interesting. I'll give you a chance to play the good cop."

"Try to find a way to lower the price. If it's lower than Tokyo Garment's price, we can consider using theirs."

Kadokawa Haruki's words were concise and to the point. After finishing writing, Gu Ming also subtly made a nodding gesture.

Haruki Kadokawa then stood up, his movement so exaggerated that it almost knocked over the coffee on the table.

"I'm very sorry, but I don't see any reason to consider you. Let's talk about cooperation later. If I wanted to cooperate, I could have as many companies as I wanted. Why would I consider a small company like yours?"

Kadokawa Haruki left so decisively that Gu Ming didn't even have time to call out to him.

Reflecting on those few words, Gu Ming was filled with amazement.

How should I put it? Haruki Kadokawa has really good eyesight, because the man in front of him, Tadashi Yanai, is no ordinary person.

He later founded Uniqlo, the famous Japanese clothing brand.

Even if Kadokawa Haruki hadn't said anything, Gu Ming actually wanted to talk to this person, but he didn't expect that Kadokawa Haruki had similar thoughts.

Seeing that Kadokawa Haruki had already left, Tani Akira also stood up, ready to leave as well.

"Please wait a minute!" Yanai Tadashi hurriedly called out, "Furutani-kun, it's like this, please reconsider!"

Gu Ming slowly shook his head: "I'm sorry, I'm just an actor, I don't understand your business planning, but I'm still willing to trust his judgment."

"Yes, I understand that, but as a costume supplier, we can definitely come up with a better solution. It's for customizing costumes for the new production, right? As long as you mention our company's name at the end of the production, I'm willing to provide costumes for all the main characters free of charge, and do a complete design!"

Tadashi Yanai clasped his hands together, bowed deeply, and became even more humble: "Please, please, you must try it!"

Gu Ming stood in front of him, looking at the future chairman and head of Uniqlo.

"Yanai-kun, what's the name of your company?"

"Ah, that..."

Tadashi Yanai suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

The answer is, it has no name.

Because Uniqlo hasn't been officially established yet!

Uniqlo was registered in 1984 by Tadashi Yanai's father and transferred to Tadashi Yanai a few months later. Before that, Uniqlo was not a brand.

Currently, Uniqlo is still a typical family-run company, known as 'Ogori Shoji Co., Ltd.' Although the family has considered transforming from a family-run company into a formal corporation as the Japanese economy rises, what they need most right now is a stable business.

After all, family-run companies are different from regular companies.

For example, Mangoku was a typical family company, with all important positions held by family members and a few close associates from top to bottom.

The defining characteristic is that a strong leader can drive the entire company's growth and success. However, if internal problems arise, such as a lack of cohesion (e.g., the conflict between Wan Guyi and Wan Guyao, or the inability of Wan Gujie to intervene), the company will collapse at lightning speed. In short, because it's not formally organized and is essentially a makeshift team, all sorts of problems will inevitably arise.

Gu Ming stood there for a while, until Yanai Tadashi could no longer support his back and wanted to sit down, before Gu Ming finally spoke: "I can only try my best to persuade him, but I can't guarantee that he will agree. In order to persuade him, let's first have one of my costumes made."

Gu Ming raised his wrist, checked the time, and said, "There are still two hours left. I suppose that should be enough time to take the measurements."

Yanai Tadashi's expression instantly brightened, and he supported himself with an even more respectful bow.

"No problem! Please come this way!"

……

……

The custom-made clothing from Uniqlo has arrived.

Unlike the beggar-style clothing that Tokyo Garment had previously presented, this outfit was closer to the style of a simple haori. Although the design looked worn, the materials used were exquisite. Gu Ming casually tugged at it, and the clothes were completely intact.

The team from the firm gathered around to take a look. Although they couldn't tell whether it was good or bad, it was definitely better than the proposal that Tokyo Garment had put forward.

Tadashi Yanai enthusiastically explained his design ideas.

"After I got back, I read 'The Eight Kenkens of Satomi' twice and analyzed the characters' personalities. I also considered Furuya-kun's characteristics. Inue Shinbei is a character from a humble background who tries to climb to a high position. Such a person would try his best to emulate the great figures. Even if he didn't have a good sword, he would try to use 'Bamboo Light' instead. Even if he didn't have the clothes of a great figure, he would try his best to dress like a samurai rather than an ordinary savage. So I designed this outfit."

He stood on tiptoe, hung the clothes on the rack, and spread them out for display.

"This style is very similar to the 'Jin' 'Haori'. Under normal circumstances, no one would wear this kind of clothing as everyday wear. But as someone from a humble background, Inue Shinbei would not realize the difference. He has seen lords wearing 'Haori' and thought it looked very noble, so he would wear this outfit in a similar manner."

"At the same time, because he has never truly experienced that kind of life, even his haori (a type of traditional Chinese garment) has obvious irregularities in its design and accessories."

Tadashi Yanai spoke for almost half an hour straight, while Akira Tani nodded repeatedly, appearing exceptionally attentive and constantly agreeing, though he was actually nearly asleep. Encouraged, Tadashi Yanai spoke for another ten minutes before finally stopping.

All those complex design ideas amounted to just one sentence in Gu Ming's ears.

This outfit has been made to look perfectly natural!
He went into the fitting room to try it on, and when he came out, he appeared before everyone as a grassroots warrior.

Gu Ming looked in the mirror and had an indescribable feeling.

It's like a small-town entrepreneur wearing an oversized suit.

You know he takes it very seriously; you know he specially changed into a suit.

However, no matter how you look at it, that outfit gives off a sense of embarrassment.

Now, this outfit gives Gu Ming that feeling.

"I will explain this to Kadokawa-kun, and I look forward to a pleasant collaboration between us in the future!"

(End of this chapter)