Air Closet Co., Ltd. President and CEO Satoshi Amanuma

Value your time and always find enjoyment

President and CEO of Air Closet Co., Ltd.　Satoshi Amanuma(Amanuma Satoshi)

■ Profile
After graduating from the University of London, he joined ABeam Consulting Ltd. in 2003 and worked as an IT and strategy consultant for around nine years. From 2011, he worked at Rakuten, Inc. (now Rakuten Group Inc.) as a global web manager specializing in UI/UX, before founding Air Closet Inc. in 2014.

With over 800,000 members, Air Closet Inc. is the number one fashion subscription service chosen by working women. What was the motivation behind founding the company and creating the service at a time when subscription and clothing rental services were not yet widespread? We spoke with President and CEO Satoshi Amanuma about the process.

■ My student days were filled with cherishing my own interests and concerns

When I was little, I saw a Christian missionary friend of my father throw a huge Christmas party, and I realized that values ​​and ways of thinking differ depending on where you live, your race, and the culture you have. At that time, I found it interesting that what is normal for me may not be normal for other people.
Since then, I had a strong desire to live in a place with a different culture, so I went to a high school in Ireland that had a branch of a Japanese school, and then I decided to go to a university in London, known as a melting pot of different races.
I studied Information Technology at university in London. I've loved computers since I was little, but technology wasn't yet widespread in society, so I was especially interested in it. At the time, there was a strong tendency to think of the Internet as a dangerous world due to its anonymity, but I felt that the Internet, which allows people to communicate with each other regardless of location, would change the world. On the other hand, because it was a time before the Internet, the image of Japan that people overseas had was quite vague. For this reason, I began to think that I wanted more people overseas to get to know Japan through the Internet.

■ Desire to work with diverse people

During my time at university in London, I realized once again that I loved Japan, so after graduating, I returned to Japan and joined a consulting firm. I had a vague desire to start my own business, but I thought that consulting would be the best way to first acquire the basic skills needed for business. I used to be bad at speaking in front of people, such as giving presentations, so I became a consultant in order to get closer to the cool leader I envisioned.
However, because project management in consulting has a set beginning and end, I was able to get it done fairly well as I got used to it, but I still didn't understand how to build an organization that has no end. I also felt that many of the people working at consulting firms had similar skill sets to mine. To use an RPG analogy, it was like only meeting wizards. I wanted to meet people from other professions, not just wizards, and I wanted to know how to get them to follow me, so I considered changing jobs.
After that, I joined Rakuten. I decided to join because I thought there was a lot I could learn from Rakuten, which was founded from scratch and has grown into a global company. I think I was able to learn how to think about organizational building and teams at the company.

■A company that can increase the value of time

In 2013, I invited two friends from my consulting days to join us, and we founded the company in 2014. The reason I started fashion subscriptions was because of "time." Everyone has the same amount of time, but the value of time can become unequal depending on how we use and perceive it. By increasing the value of every minute and second in our lives, we can also improve the quality of our lifestyle.
So, what kind of time is most valuable? Time that is exciting. So, we decided to build a company with the vision of "a world where excitement is as natural as air."
Food, clothing, and shelter are the three necessities that increase the value of time and enrich our lifestyles, and we believe that fashion is the one that gives us the most immediate and lasting excitement. Women, in particular, experience changes in the amount of time they spend on themselves as they transition through life stages. Some people give up on discovering fashion because they are so busy.
That's why we thought about how we could help people discover new fashion without changing their lifestyles. Clothing is something that might not suit you, but might suit someone else. We created an online rental service based on the concept of sharing, to provide equal opportunities for people all over Japan. And because busy women don't have time to shop, we've created a service that broadens their exposure to new fashion by having personal stylists provide clothes that suit each individual.
Furthermore, by eliminating return deadlines and doing the cleaning in-house, we have designed the store so that customers are not tied down by time and can focus solely on enjoying wearing their clothes.
When we started the service, there were no precedents anywhere in the world, and because we had no competitors, we had to design the system from scratch. There have been similar services, but I feel that building it from scratch has allowed us to remain a pioneer. In particular, I think it would be extremely difficult for another company to build a logistics infrastructure for circulating goods from scratch. We started with just a few hundred items, but with the support of people who believed in us, we now offer over 35 items of clothing from 300 brands.

■ To enjoy life, enjoy your work

There are many challenges in my work, but it's always fun. My favorite moment is when I work hard with my colleagues and achieve something. Based on the idea that a company has a personality, just as the word "corporate personality" is written, our company has a code of conduct called "9hearts" that defines the company's personality.
One of the items is "Enjoy with all your might." I want our employees to have an exciting time. Every job has a purpose that the organization wants to achieve, and if you can understand that purpose, you should be able to enjoy any job.
Also, when working, it's important to always be aware of the challenges ahead. I feel that in order to solve those challenges, we must not neglect change and challenges. When working for a growing company, the scope of your work will expand as you grow as a person. If you want to enjoy your work more, you have no choice but to grow as a person. Sports are dependent on talent, but I believe that anyone can achieve results in their work if they put their mind to it. This is why I think it's important to be greedy and keep growing.

■Message to university students

How you use your time is determined by your attitude. I think it's important to be serious about using all the time you have in a way that satisfies you. Because time in life is limited, you need to think carefully about how you use it. And I hope you will cherish your own life.

Student Newspaper Online Interview October 6, 2022 Kokugakuin University 10rd Year Student Shimada Daiki