Lavianne Co., Ltd.

LAVIENNE SA

Small is Beautiful

With the motto "Even if the scale is small, it shines like a star"

Our History

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Greetings

Tamami Mizukami

President

From Fashion to Real Estate

LAVIEN･NE SA LAVIENNE Co., Ltd. started on October 1, 1958 in Semba, Osaka. With its main focus on printed patterns and woolen fabrics, the company was at the forefront of the post-war boom in the textile industry. In the real estate industry, I chose the building based on my sense of fashion and the location based on that intuition. Our concept is felt in the appearance of each property, and we are particular about the location. In order to provide such a space where designers can work with confidence, we have been running our business with the same policy as before.

Toshio Mizukami

Chairman

More than 60 Years with the Company

Lavianne Co., Ltd. was founded in 1958 in Higashi-ku (currently Chuo-ku), Osaka as Shop Mizukami and hve overcome a number of obstacles since then to get to where we are now.

Concentrating wisdom for a new era, we continue to develop the fashion world with the motto "Small is Beautiful" (even if the scale is small, it shines like a star). We will continue to make efforts to become a true fashion business.

Our Philosophy

Lavianne's Fashion - "Small is Beautiful" -

Rather than mass-produced products at low prices, we deliver products that are worth the price, even if they are expensive, to those who want them. We maintain the business by protecting the value of the brand, not by expanding the scale. This kind of management policy of is seen in European luxury brands. "The more time passes, the more it matures and increases its value..."

Lavianne is a company that embodies such desire for business.

Our History

Entering society

Upon graduating from high school, I packed a suitcase and said goodbye to the hometown where I was born and raised. It was on March 16, 1951. Together with a high school classmate, I got a job as an apprentice at Ishihara Shoten, a textile wholesaler in Senba, Osaka.

In 1953, I became a "diplomatic" businessman, but I struggled to find new customers.

The company's sales increased steadily, and the store's organization changed to a corporate structure. It was around that time that I also started to handle diplomacy. However, instead of being taught by my seniors, I had to find new customers myself. I walked around like crazy, trying to find new customers, but I learned that it's not easy for a newcomer to get in. It was the hardest time.

I began to study the issue and realized that I needed to come up with a more efficient sales strategy. Since I was selling luxury goods, I created and executed a sales plan that targeted the No. 1 to No. 3 shops in each shopping district.

Creating original products by changing only the warp threads

How can we be of service to our customers? The manufacturers are top-notch and the products have good taste and quality.

So, for the best-selling winter fabrics, number 1 to number 10, we created original products by changing only the weft threads without changing the warp threads, and had them sold at limited stores. This method proved to be successful.

Personal start-up period

On October 1, 1958, I rented a sales counter (4 shaku wide, about 1m20cm long) and 2 shaku deep (about 60cm wide) in Ishida Kaikan, Kitakyutarocho 5-chome, Higashi-ku (now Chuo-ku), and started my own business, paying rent on a daily basis.

In May of the following year, 1959, the company moved out of Ishida Hall and into the more conveniently located first floor of the OSK Building. Competition with other businesses was fierce.

Tips for a successful "thank you letter strategy"

I would slip in thank-you notes to customers who had bought from me, encouraging them to come back again. I wanted them to understand how I felt. The customers were pleased and said, "Your fabric is great. And it's cheap, so that's a big help."

Business is going well, so we set up a business meeting room in our office.

Business is also on track, and we put more effort into creating original products. As the office became too small, we rented an additional second floor and started creating original products there. During the day, we do business on the first floor, and at night, we take samples and rush to sell our original products to specialty stores in Shinsaibashi, Tenjinbashi, and Senbayashi. As soon as these products start selling, we consider incorporating in order to focus solely on original products.

In 1962, Mizukami Shoten Co., Ltd. was established. The trademark was "Lavienne Lane," which means beloved woolen fabric in French. The company emblem is two L's on a wave (Lavienne Lane), representing a star shining around the world.

The company started to develop domestically by focusing on creating original products. It created a "staged" look with a set-up that combined printed and plain fabrics. This was the beginning of "coordination."

Furthermore, we used spark nylon as the warp thread and wool as the weft thread, then printed it to create original products.

In 1964, Itochu Corporation's credibility with Lavienne also improved dramatically.

With the understanding that "fashion has no borders," the group visited Itochu's export print shops at Daimaru in the Kansai region, Ginza San-ai, Ueno Fuji Store, and Shinjuku Beniya in the Kanto region, and conducted business negotiations.

In 1994, the company finally decided to expand into Tokyo. In addition to the three companies mentioned above, the company also succeeded in developing Torii and Hitsujiya, expanding its sales channels. The company sold its products at Mitsukoshi department stores, and Easy Order was sold at Seibu department store in Ikebukuro.

The Shinkansen bullet train service began in the same year as the Tokyo Olympics. I named that vibrant blue "Shinkansen Blue" and commercialized it. It was sold at the Ginza Maggy store and became a big hit.

New Year, 1965

Photos from the first exhibition

We moved our head office to the front of Utsubo Park and held an exhibition in our head office showroom. To our surprise, many people came from Tokyo, including famous designers Nobuo Nakamura and Ichiro Kimijima.

In 1966, I went on a one-month study trip to Europe. It was a time when the exchange rate was 360 yen to the dollar and I was only allowed to take out 50,000 yen. In France, I visited the fashionable Champs-Élysées and Saint-Honore in Paris many times to see Cardin, Chanel, and Dior. I had an intuition that the "ready-to-wear era" would come in the near future.

In 1970, the company purchased land in front of NHK in Shibuya, Tokyo (the NHK building did not yet exist at the time), and established its Tokyo store, using an existing wooden house as its office and residence.

In 1970, as part of a globalization strategy, the company established a new department for importing European fabrics and also launched a sales department, which began in earnest the following year in 1971. The company strengthened its relationship with Marubeni and expanded sales to domestic ready-to-wear manufacturers.

In the Tokyo area, we rented out a room in a hotel in Akasaka and held an exhibition and order meeting for imported fabrics. The cotton jacquard from Tako, a prestigious Swiss cotton textile manufacturer, was particularly popular. The exhibition was very well received.

With an eye towards internationalization, the company name was changed to "Lavienne."

In 1972, the real estate division was established.

A serious oil crisis hit the Japanese archipelago. At the time, the market was in a state of "shortage panic" due to the first oil shock. Even though it was the middle of a recession, I decided to build an apartment building with a "reverse idea." This was the first step in managing an apartment building.

In 1976, the company decided to hire university graduates, and out of 200 applicants, six were hired.

With the cooperation of our bank, Sanwa Bank, Shinanobashi Branch, the interviews were conducted in the conference room on the third floor.

In 1983, polyester was the most widely used synthetic fiber in the world, and its ease of processing and low price made it superior to other synthetic fibers such as acrylic and nylon. It rapidly grew as a material that supported the world's demand for textiles.

The entire industry transformed from the "textile industry" to the "fashion industry", shifting from woolen fabrics to synthetic fibers.

Since its founding, the company has aimed to become a leading company in the fashion industry, and it has long dreamed of building a fashion antenna building in the heart of Tokyo to disseminate information to Japan and the world. This dream came true with the Lavianne Tokyo Building, which was completed in September 1994. The headquarters of Marubeni Corporation submitted a bid, and Shimizu Corporation constructed the building. It is located opposite the west gate of the NHK Broadcasting Center. The first floor was used as Lavienne showroom, where the finest white cashmere coats and Toyobo's Gend'or (a new synthetic fiber) were on display.

Digression

Our showroom in Tokyo was used for the location shooting of "Konna Koi no Hanashi" which was broadcast on Fuji Television Network for 12 episodes from July 3, 1997. The Thursday Theatre TV drama "Konna Koi no Hanashi" was mainly filmed at our showroom.

1998, the recession begins

Even in the midst of the recession, the company is making its presence felt by increasing its name recognition.

Yamaichi Securities, the fourth largest bank in Japan, closed its doors after 101 years of operation, followed by the virtual collapse of LTCB (Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan) in October.

Meanwhile, our Tokyo showroom has attracted attention for its elegance and beauty, and we have even lent it out to an NHK producer as a party venue.

The changing state of the fashion world

Textiles became Chinese. Inexpensive products came in from China and took over the Japanese market. This caused a big change in fashion, including the textile industry in our country. European brands quickly responded, moving their stores to the first floor of Midosuji, the main street, to consolidate their presence.

Therefore, we decided that each company would be self-sufficient, adopt a performance-based system, and devote ourselves to our own unique way of life.

Furthermore, we have taken it a step further and introduced a performance-based wage system.

In Japan, if you fail once, that's it. It's important not to make mistakes, and results are secondary; your evaluation is determined by the number of mistakes you make. In America, you're evaluated based on the number of results you achieve, and failures are used as experience. You're given as many opportunities to try as you want. Our company has already introduced the point system, and we're going even further by introducing a performance-based wage system. At the same time, the policy of spinning off companies was also implemented.

Carrying it out with the spirit of "Small is Best"

Even though we are small now, we want to shine like a star.

Going forward, companies will increasingly need "family-run venture businesses" to meet the needs of the times.

As culture matures, consumer needs are becoming more diverse and the speed of change is accelerating, and we believe that individuality and creative talent are essential for those involved in the planning, production and sales of fashion.

The spin-off companies will be in a "sibling" relationship (not a parent-child relationship) with each other, and while competing with each other and looking back at the origins of their management, they will continue to strive to be a company that strives for "evolution" and "development."

The world's finest "white cashmere" was born. In Europe, "white cashmere fabric" was a luxury item used only by the nobility. Fukaki Keori Co., Ltd. succeeded in making this "white cashmere" reversible. This time, the best way to sell cashmere products is through the department store's sales department, so the company focused on doing business with Takashimaya. Since the company's founding, it has stuck to doing business with one company in one industry, and has not been interested in other department stores.

I explained the product to about 120 sales staff from the Takashimaya Osaka store, and as expected, they all understood and agreed with me. In this way, the sales staff accompanied us one by one and started door-to-door sales. Door-to-door sales with the Takashimaya sales staff also got on track.

Inspired by full-color movies

In 1956, I first saw the deep navy blue of the Daiei film "Night River," which was a full-color movie, and the sun red and crimson red of "8:13 PM in Forgetful Time." I was so fascinated by the vividness of the colors that I had woolen cloth dyed the same colors saw in the film, and sold them.

Japanese textile processing technology was advancing, originality was emerging, synthetic fibers were being developed, and the technological quality of products was approaching global standards.

Training period

Suddenly, I was thrown out to sell at a street stall. I put up a sign saying "Clearance sale items from a certain manufacturer" and sold them at a street stall. Even though it was a street stall, I had no hesitation because my products were genuine, and explained it confidently to customers. Pure wool fabric was still rare, and I was the object of envy. I was wearing a school uniform with a stand-up collar, and had just graduated from high school, but that was the norm at the time.

Contact us

Main Office
1-16-15 Utsubohonmachi, Nishi Ward,
Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
Branch Office
1-17-5 Higashinakajima, Higashiyodogawa,
Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
Studio Shin-Osaka 1115
Call 06-6321-8001　Fax 06-6321-8008

LAVIENNE SA

Lavianne Co., Ltd.

LAVIENNE SA

Small is Beautiful

Greetings

Tamami Mizukami

Toshio Mizukami

Our Philosophy

Our History

Contact us

Main Office
1-16-15 Utsubohonmachi, Nishi Ward,
Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
Branch Office
1-17-5 Higashinakajima, Higashiyodogawa,
Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
Studio Shin-Osaka 1115
Call 06-6321-8001　Fax 06-6321-8008

Copyright ©︎ 2021 Lavienne Co., Ltd.

TOP

LAVIENNE SA

Lavianne Co., Ltd.

LAVIENNE SA

​Small is Beautiful

Greetings

Tamami Mizukami

Toshio Mizukami

Our Philosophy

Our History

Contact us

Main Office 1-16-15 Utsubohonmachi, Nishi Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Branch Office ​1-17-5 Higashinakajima, Higashiyodogawa, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Studio Shin-Osaka 1115 ​Call 06-6321-8001 Fax 06-6321-8008

​Copyright ©︎ 2021 Lavienne Co., Ltd.

TOP

Small is Beautiful

Main Office
1-16-15 Utsubohonmachi, Nishi Ward,
Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
Branch Office
1-17-5 Higashinakajima, Higashiyodogawa,
Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
Studio Shin-Osaka 1115
Call 06-6321-8001　Fax 06-6321-8008

Copyright ©︎ 2021 Lavienne Co., Ltd.