Loft Co., Ltd. President and CEO Kimiki Ando

2025.02.24

Providing an entertainment space with miscellaneous goods

President and CEO of Loft Co., Ltd.　Kimimoto Ando(Ando Kouki)

■Profile
March 1981 (Showa 56) Graduated from the Faculty of Law, Chuo University
April 1981: Joined Seibu Department Stores Co., Ltd.
March 1993: Buyer in the Merchandise Department and the Loft Hobby Goods Department of the same company
August 2004: General Manager of the Home Fashion Division, Merchandise Department, Loft Co., Ltd.
September 2010: Director of Umeda Loft
February 2012: General Manager of the Product Department at the same company
May 2015: Director, Executive Officer, and General Manager of the Product Department of the same company
August 2016: Representative Director, President and CEO (current position)

Loft sells a wide variety of lifestyle goods and is loved by many people. Current president Kimiki Ando was involved in the launch of Loft and continues to work hard every day to enrich customers' lives through miscellaneous goods. We take a closer look at Ando's love for Loft and find out what his aspirations were when he launched Loft.

■ When I first joined the company, I tackled everything head-on

During my student days, I spent all my time playing around. I was studying law and aiming to pass the bar exam, so I wasn't even job hunting. However, I often came to Shibuya and loved Shibuya Seibu, so I often went there, so I applied to the only store I could go to, Seibu Department Store. Luckily, I passed and ended up getting a job at Seibu Department Store.
I joined Seibu Department Store and was assigned to the Shibuya Seibu Department of Hobbies and Accessories. However, because I was young, I was more interested in sales planning and fashion-related work than hobby goods. At the time, the Shibuya Seibu Department of Hobbies and Accessories was a rather unassuming section of the department store. I worked in the book section on the outskirts for a year and a half, then transferred to the 7th floor of the Shibuya Seibu department. I was in charge of stationery and other items, but I didn't enjoy it very much. At the time, Shibuya Seibu was considered as fashionable as Isetan, with many high-end brand stores and a cutting-edge fashion scene. Meanwhile, the hobby goods section lacked appeal. However, with the realization that the era of miscellaneous goods was upon us, the 7th floor was renovated to create a new, large specialty store for lifestyle goods. I was put in charge of a small, specialty stationery section. There, I focused on system organizers as a differentiated product, and then stocked leather goods and fountain pens to complement them. It was my first experience freely selecting products and consulting with designers on the layout to create a small sales area. At that time, I felt that for the first time I was able to spend a fulfilling time at a department store by selling products that I had solid product knowledge of to customers. After that, Shibuya Seibu decided to create a store specializing in lifestyle apparel, and also to create a sales area for miscellaneous goods, so I worked for about a year selecting miscellaneous goods to match the theme of the floor. The other members were in charge of apparel, and I was the only one in charge of miscellaneous goods, so it was a really tough experience there. However, it was a period that taught me a lot. The experience I gained at that time would have a big influence when I launched Loft.

■ A museum that values "sensitivity"

When we launched Loft, our immediate rival was Tokyu Hands. We were constantly thinking about how we could surpass them. At first, we felt we had to beat them where they were strongest, so we visited the materials and tools section almost every day. However, as we encountered various unique products, we wondered where they sourced them and realized that it was simply not possible. So we focused on leveraging Seibu Department Store's strengths. Seibu Department Store's strength is, of course, its sensitivity. We decided to make this our theme. Tokyu Hands is an urban DIY center known for its differentiated sales floors. On the other hand, we wanted to create a space that was not focused on specific purchases, but rather a time-spending entertainment space. We decided to differentiate ourselves by creating an entertainment space where people could have fun even without shopping. Furthermore, while Tokyu Hands attracts many male and older customers, Shibuya Seibu attracts many young women. Therefore, we decided to target customers around the age of 25. Since then, Loft's concept has been "a vessel of time." Without fear of change itself, it flexibly captures the trends of the times and always transmits stimulating information through its products and sales floors. This has not changed since the launch of Loft, when it wanted to be a building that cherishes sensibility, rather than a building that only serves standard purposes.

■ The long-established general goods brand Loft and its future

Recently, we have been selling many collaborative products. I think the reason we are able to collaborate with various creators is that Shibuya Loft has been open for 37 years and has become well-known as a general goods store brand. Another big factor is that we have the power to expand nationwide. Another reason is that many creators are also fans of Loft.
The kind of people I want to work with at Loft are those with good communication skills and honesty. Whether you work in a store, in the product department, or at headquarters, communication skills are extremely important. People who are honest and quick on their feet are the ones who grow the most. That's why I want to work with people like that.
Our future goals are to expand our standard stores (sales floor area of around 750-999m2) and improve the structure of our large stores. When we first started, Loft's standard stores weren't very profitable, but at a certain point, efficiency improved dramatically, and our large stores found it difficult to do so. I think these profitable standard stores are our strength. That's why we want to increase the number of these standard stores to generate solid profits for the entire company, and to prevent losses at our large stores from hindering this movement, we plan to improve the structure and efficiency by relocating and optimizing the size of our stores.

■Message to university students

I think it's important to have the determination to try anything when you're young. I want you to always be curious and get out there and see all kinds of different things. You'll all be rapidly growing into adults from now on. However, as the saying goes, "young at heart," I hope you never forget the young spirit you have now.