In the last brewery diary, I mentioned the upcoming Dassai Fair at Isetan Shinjuku, starting on February 19th. The event date is fast approaching, starting this Wednesday. To compete with a certain champagne brand that collaborated with Yayoi Kusama, which made 120 million yen in one week, we declared that we would surpass their sales and have been preparing various things.
Thanks to everyone’s support, several bottles of the 4.18 million yen (Approx $38,000 US) Beyond the Beyond have already been pre-ordered. Also, the 132,000 yen (Approx $852 US) Blue Beyond hasn’t yet reached 100 bottles, but there are already several dozen pre-orders. Of course, the two-bottle set of the Joe Hisaishi bottle has also started off smoothly. While we cannot be complacent, if we continue with this momentum, there seems to be a possibility of success.
I truly appreciate it. From what I heard, many people are asking, "I heard Dassai is doing something, what should I do? Which one should I buy?" Personally, when I was riding the elevator at Isetan Shinjuku, because I was wearing a kimono, someone probably noticed the "DASSAI" written on my haori, and a graceful woman said to me, "Are you from Dassai? I'm a fan. Please do your best!" I was really touched. "Thank you!!" Everyone's kindness really touches my heart.
This 120 million yen (Approx.$ 840,000 USD) goal is an important test for the future target of 100 billion yen (Approx $700 million USD) in sales. From the perspective of sake sales, considering that a "small sake brewery in the mountains of Yamaguchi" had not even reached 100 million yen (Approx $700,000 USD)in sales before, it’s already amazing that we’ve come this far, so it would be unreasonable to ask for more.
But we have to keep moving forward. When considering Japan as a premium brand, there are currently no brands surpassing 100 billion yen in sales, whether in fashion or other fields. However, Western countries like France and Italy have brands like Hermes, Gucci, Ferrari, Maserati, and many others. These contribute to the national image of their countries. Japan, on the other hand, only has brands targeted at mass markets, which makes us weak in the global context, especially when considering Japan’s aging population and declining birthrate. Creating a brand that can be part of this elite group is crucial for Japan’s future.
Therefore, surpassing 100 billion yen in sales is the qualification for joining this circle, and achieving this 120 million yen goal is the first step towards that target. (Am I being too persistent? Sorry, I got a little too passionate.) This is the spirit of our week in Shinjuku. Please come and experience DASSAI challenge at Isetan.
☆ Dodgers Pitcher Sasaki Ahead of this week’s event, as a pre-celebration, we heard the news that Dodgers pitcher Sasaki had given his teammate, Rojas, the number 11 jersey he inherited as a thank-you and gifted him “DASSAI Beyond the Beyond”. Because of the shared theme of "challenging the world," this was praised by a certain beautiful woman from Kyushu.
☆ A Trivial Story I bought a hoodie. If a man in his 40s wears a hoodie to work, people say it’s "annoying." I was wondering what would happen if a 74-year-old grandpa wore one, so I bought it at UNIQLO. Well, everyone just chuckled. This is kindness!!