Global Strategy Office Staff／
Manager of
Naoki Kuribayashi
“Hard work.” Nothing else is easier to say but harder to do. On rare occasions, however, there are people who don't think of their hard work as work; to advance and grow, they study, think, work, and produce twice as hard as the next person. Naoki Kuribayashi, is one such person. In his packed daily schedule, not only does Kuribayashi run the Kaneko store in Tokyo’s Haneda Airport busy international terminal – he also handles the company’s Asia-focused international strategy. Although he may humbly deny it, his colleagues and subordinates know Kuribayashi as someone who “works hard and produces results." He’s 61 years old, but for Kuribayashi, age is just a number. He has no concept of "age-appropriate," and comes to work every day with a dedication to his own and the company’s growth.
A unique position with the key to overseas expansion
After being forced by the coronavirus to close its doors, the KANEKO OPTICAL Haneda Airport Terminal 3 store was finally able to resume operations in February 2024. As restrictions on overseas travel were relaxed, Kuribayashi suddenly became very busy. Since opening their company-owned store in Manhattan’s Soho district in 2000, KANEKO OPTICAL has been expanding its retail base in Europe, the US, and Asian countries in parallel with the development of company-owned stores in Japan. In 2015 the company established a French corporation and opened two stores in Paris. The company has been preparing for a full-scale overseas expansion, including direct retail stores, originally expected to start in 2020. This includes expansion into Asia, where the company established a Chinese corporation in Shanghai. Kuribayashi will be working on the launch of new stores in China as he runs the store at Haneda Airport. His position is unique even within KANEKO OPTICAL. “I don’t know what department I belong to – I stick my nose into all sorts of places,” he chuckles. “The point is to adapt flexibly.” Kuribayashi started studying English in his 30s and Chinese in his 40s, and can now carry on conversations in both. He views this as an indispensable skill for his work, and has been actively promoting the company's overseas expansion for more than 10 years. That’s the background to his current unique position in the company, where he
There is only progress. No retirement.
Before becoming the person he is today, Kuribayashi had a bitter past that was not always smooth sailing. Born in Niigata Prefecture, he graduated from a local high school and moved to Tokyo, where he started to seriously pursue his long-standing band career and attended a music college with the aim of going professional. After seven years of earning a living through part-time work and seriously pursuing music, he came to see that "a world where hard work doesn't pay off." Feeling that his talent was limited, and his parents telling him that "if you don't get a job by the time you're 25, we'll cut you off," he gave up on music and got a job at an apparel company. "I didn't have much talent, but I don't regret it at all. Because, you know, if you want to be an office worker, you can always do it. But I was only able to pursue music seriously at that time. Looking back, it was a good experience."
He worked in the apparel industry for 15 years from the age of 25, and at the age of 40, he moved to a major glasses company. He was assigned to a 3-price store that was part of the same chain. However, the work was so hard and there was such a strong pressure to achieve sales that the staff were in a survival mode of joining and quitting. In this harsh environment, Kuribayashi worked to the limit of his physical and mental strength, and as a store manager, he increased sales one after another and built up a track record. However. "At that time, my goal was to work harder than anyone else, acquire more skills than anyone else, and once I achieved a certain level of performance, I would change jobs. I thought that if I didn't do that, my body would not be able to take it." Shortly after entering his 40s, his body finally gave out, and he was hospitalized with sepsis from overwork, and he was on the verge of death. He spent a month in a hospital bed and fortunately returned to work without any aftereffects, but he thought that he had already fulfilled his role at the company. Having achieved the goals he had set for himself and achieved sales that no one could fault, he then moved to KANEKO OPTICAL at the age of 45 to pursue a new career. "In the case of 3 Price stores, it is the fate of that type of business that you end up taking the stance of 'handling' a lot of customers. It's impossible to build close relationships with customers. But KANEKO OPTICAL is fundamentally different in that respect; the best part is the close customer service, and the quality of the glasses is high. Because we deal with such products, I can grow as well. When I joined this company, I first learned the joy of building relationships with customers."
This year marks my 16th year at Kaneko. Even after turning 60, there are still many things I need to do or that I want to do. "For now, I don't have any plans to retire. I want to work for the rest of my life, and I only think about the future when it comes to work. I'm blessed to be able to work with that kind of attitude. As a member of the company, I think that the appeal of KANEKO OPTICAL is the appeal of the president. President Kaneko's ideas are reflected in many places, and we work within that environment. And above all, we are very proud of the fact that we design, manufacture, and sell high-quality eyeglasses ourselves. I think this is a crucial difference from many other companies in the same industry, and I'm happy to be able to work in such an environment. Moreover, now I can look overseas and have new hopes for the future. I think that 75 will be a turning point, but I can't think about retiring now."
PROFILE
Naoki Kuribayashi
Born in Niigata Prefecture. Moved to Tokyo after graduating from a local high school. While playing in a band, he attended a music college with the aim of going professional, but gave up at the age of 25 and got a job at an apparel company. At the age of 40, he moved to a major eyeglass company and was assigned to three affiliated price eyeglass stores. He achieved remarkable results at each store he was assigned to, and then moved to KANEKO OPTICAL. He currently serves as the manager of the Haneda Airport Terminal 3 store and as a member of the Global Strategy Office, which holds the key to expanding overseas.
