Precision Eyewear Craftsmanship: How Four Nines Elevates Japan’s Luxury Optical Market

Japan has a long-standing history in fashion, particularly in eyewear, reflecting the country’s rich cultural heritage and attention to detail. Over the years, these traditional elements have evolved with modern design innovations, and today, Japan is known for its craftsmanship with visionary designers. How would you define the uniqueness of Japan’s eyewear industry, and from your point of view, what would be its main strengths?

Our strength really lies in the Sabae region, which has become the hotbed for eyewear production in Japan. However, before launching our 999.9 brand, this wasn’t the case. Today, when people think of made-in-Japan eyewear, they instantly think of quality, and we pride ourselves on being instrumental to that quality. There are many manufacturers who do licensing with other brands, and those branded eyewear are sold in big chains and retailers. This doesn’t necessarily mean that people have a favorite brand, and we have seen from research that people’s priority for eyewear is relatively low compared to other fashion accessories. The positioning of eyewear wasn’t really established back when we started 999.9. We wanted to really cement made-in-Japan eyewear, and we started with that philosophy.

Before starting the brand, I sold eyewear at a store some 25 years ago. Usually, we had customers with prescriptions and they needed glasses for everyday use. A lot of the customers said that if they didn’t need glasses, they wouldn’t wear them. It came down to complaints about comfortability. In that sort of environment, however, we still have to pitch to the customers, and while I wouldn’t tell the customers directly, there wasn’t a concept of comfortable frames for easy-to-wear back then. I thought this was wrong, and we needed to change the frames themselves to make them comfortable to wear.

Can you tell us about some of the key technologies you have developed? What are some of the technological milestones that you are proud of?

I think this is still the case today, but when a customer used to go to the eyewear store, staff would remind customers to handle their glasses with care. They would specifically tell them to use both hands to put them on and take them off, which isn’t really the reality. Also, screws can come loose, so you have to go to the store from time to time to have repairs done. It is required that in the beginning, staff at an eyewear store have to outline all of these negative elements of the glasses to the customers. We wanted to change that kind of presumption and create something that can be worn comfortably for a long time. Back then, there was no single point of sympathy, and since nothing had been done before, there was no push to change the way things were. This was the reaction I received when talking to many plants. In that kind of environment, we couldn’t find anyone to partner up with to create our ideal glasses. We really wanted to create eyewear that can be used on a daily basis in a comfortable manner that is easy for the user to handle. Ideally, we wanted that philosophy to be reflected in the eyewear we sold. In order to achieve that, producing eyewear that embraced the shape of the user's face was a must. In the past, wearers would go to see their local eye doctor, who would measure and adjust their glasses to fit the size of their head, but around the ears, in particular, frames would be really tight. I wanted to change that experience. This was where the decision to use titanium as a material came from. We thought a lot about flexible design as well as materials and parts that can really serve flexibility. This is the catalyst for 999.9.

How did you find someone to make the glasses you envisioned?

At first, no one was receptive to the idea of this design; however, I finally met someone who ran a factory and empathized with my thinking. Gradually, through trial and error, we created this first set of eyewear, which was created in 1986.

Your original 999.9 brand is centered on the philosophy that glasses are a tool, with a strong emphasis on functionality in the designs. What makes your longest-tenured brand stand out, and how does it successfully achieve luxury and functionality as intended?

I think the brand speaks to our strengths as a company. We aren’t a technology company, so we have never introduced anything groundbreaking in terms of technology. As I mentioned earlier, I began by selling glasses at a store, and there are four other founder members of our company. We all used to sell glasses, so we were all on the ground level, which gave us significant insight. There was a common theme among us to make glasses and eyewear devices better than how they had been for so long. That is the foundation of the brand and the strength we can put forward.

As mentioned, eyewear should be a tool, and that is the core of our philosophy. When pursuing high quality, it is inevitable that you will one day reach a beautiful form. Function and form will eventually converge, creating a beautiful fusion, the point I think 999.9 has reached today. Obviously, glasses are worn in various environments, and depending on the situation, different functions are required. Overall, however, they need to be wearable, comfortable, robust, and durable. These are the pillars we want to pursue with our products.

The idea that there isn’t a luxury Japanese eyewear brand has changed today. 2024 has also seen millions of inbound tourists coming to Japan, enjoying tax-free shopping, and enjoying themselves with the JPY being so weak. Onitsuka Tiger, for example, has a regular store and, right next to it, has a made-in-Japan store where the premium is almost double. Can you tell us how this translates for eyewear? How does the made-in-Japan aspect of it translate in terms of sales? Who is predominantly buying your eyewear?

First, I would like to address the second half of your question. Basically, our main clientele consists of domestic customers. However, over the past few years after the COVID-19 pandemic, we have started gaining traction globally. We currently have a lot of foreign customers, and today, about 25% of our customers are inbound tourists. Over the past ten years, we have expanded into Asia, and we have offices in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea. In those locations, we are beginning to slowly and gradually expand into the markets, gaining notoriety from those Asian customers. When they come to Japan, they come to our stores. This trend, in particular, became very prominent after COVID-19 ended. While I said that 25% of tourists are inbound now, in Ginza, it is even higher, sitting at around 50%. I see this as a really positive cycle being established with very good synergistic effects. As we become more and more known in Asian markets, more people will know about us. Word of mouth will spread our name and the quality we represent.

999.9 as a brand; however, it is something we would like to take beyond Asia. We are looking to take it into other countries and regions, so inbound tourism is very important, and we pay a lot of attention to those customers.

When it comes to Japanese eyewear, Sabae is very well known for its high standards. Having said that, however, when it comes to actual brands, there is no Japanese brand that is well-pronounced. This is my take, and perhaps if you talk to others, they will have a different opinion. It is my take that there have been very few, if any, successful Japanese eyewear brands in the global market. We want to be the first one to buck this trend and become the representative of Japanese high-quality eyewear brands.

When you talk about expanding outside of Asia, which countries are you specifically targeting?

Our founding philosophy was that through monozukuri, we wanted to create comfortable eyewear, and this philosophy remains at our core to this day. Our stance hasn’t changed and never will change. We are aware that we are now being perceived as a luxury brand, especially since we have a store in Ginza. There is an understanding on our part of the status and label associated with being called luxury. This is great, but we have never forgotten our basics and where we came from. This idea of creating something comfortable remains at the forefront of everything we do. Where we are today is the accumulation of all of these small efforts that we’ve made over the years. In Sabae, we established an area that we can be proud of. What we do today is just a continuation of the positive cycles we have carried out for many years now. I am proud to say that although Sabae was known for good eyewear manufacturing, we, as a company, brought that level higher than imaginable. Together, we have made each other better, and because of that, we are seeing a lot of success not only in Japan but also in other far-reaching locations. Every path of our company leads to that initial philosophy.

Your 999.9 Visual Lab is an initiative under your 999.9 Spirit Support program, dedicated to enhancing athletes' visual performance in sports through specialized visual training. Some contents include training the least dominant eye as well as testing and improving hand-eye coordination. Can you explain what the Vision Lab is and what kind of success athletes have had participating in this program?

Once again, we started as a frame designer, and I know I’ve mentioned it many times, but it is important for us to provide our customers with comfortable eyeglasses. At the end of the day, however, glasses must improve a user’s eyesight above everything else. Both comfortability and improved vision need to be achieved in unison. With our stores, we now have the space to showcase what we have and what we can offer. In doing that, we started connecting with many athletes, and as you can imagine, they have a lot of strong opinions and ideas. Eyesight could literally be the difference between victory and defeat, so we started thinking about the ways in which we could support those athletes. We would like to support like-minded people, and in that, I mean people who demand the best from themselves. It is unfortunate that since athletes compete in such demanding environments, they can often be blinded to their own weaknesses, so we started to provide a set environment where they could observe and improve their eyesight. This is where the concept of the Visual Lab began. As of today, we have one dedicated person whose only responsibility is the Visual Lab, and we are now providing support to over 200 athletes.

Are there any sports that you are really interested in?

The starting point was an athlete that I already knew who was having trouble finding comfortable eyewear. We do have a lot of athletes in the motorsports world, but we do provide support to a wide range of sports, including golf, baseball, and soccer. Athletes are very intuitive, and therefore, during training, they will often trust their gut feelings. Word of mouth is resounding in this aspect, and they have talked about what we do in glowing terms.

Your collaboration with Salvatore Ferragamo and Marchon Eyewear showcases your forward-thinking and dedication to creating standout luxury products through strategic collaborations. Additionally, 50% of your sales come through retailers that you partner with. Are you looking for any new overseas partnerships, whether it is with other brands for product collaborations or for retailers for distribution services?

Truth be told, those collaborations in the past were just sort of flukes. These are not the main pillars of our business. Our main business is disseminating the 999.9 brand from Japan to the world, and therefore, we aren’t necessarily very proactive and forthcoming about collaborations. We do have a lot of brands approaching us. However, we don’t have any strategic vision for future collaborations.

In Sabae, production capacity is shrinking, and our priority is always going to be our own 999.9 brand production and therefore collaborations aren’t the number one priority.      

How about partnering with retailers overseas?

When it comes to overseas expansion, we do have overseas agencies in various countries that distribute our 999.9 brand products. We would like to find further partnerships to this end. Unfortunately, I don’t have any flashy or high-profile collaborations to share with you today.

Imagine that we come back on the very last day of your presidency and have this interview all over again. What goals or dreams do you hope to achieve by the time we come back for that new interview?

As a brand, it is all about continuity. Of course, sometimes there are ups and downs and bumps in the road; however, at the end of the day, continuity is everything. When I do step down, I would like to pass the baton onto the next generation in a way that the brand is connected to as many people as possible. We should strive to become a brand that can continue for centuries rather than decades.

For more information, please visit their website at: https://www.fournines.co.jp/en/

To read more about Four Nines, check out this article about them.