Iron Heart - USA
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This has been on the cards for some time, but for various reasons has taken longer to get started than we would have liked.
Background. Haraki has always had a dream of having a presence in some form or other in The USA. Sales in Japan are slowing down and we need to find ways of keeping the workshops that make our clothing busy or else they may just decide it's all too much hassle and close down.
Paula and I agreed with Haraki back in May that we would start a new venture in Los Angeles. When I was in Tokyo with @Alex in November we discussed the concept more and firmed things up.
We are in the process of creating a joint venture between Haraki and IHUK (Tom san has a stake in the JV too). We have taken space in Kens Factory USA, based in Long Beach, Los Angeles.
The plan.
- Iron Heart USA will launch a range of clothing with Ken for Ken to sell through his outlets in The USA. This brand will be called Iron Heart Ignition
- Iron Heart USA will launch a new range of clothing aimed at the new younger, sportier breed of Harley riders. This brand will be called Iron Heart Racing
- We will cookie cut the UK online operation and set it up in Long Beach. One of our long-term problems has been the number of Nort American customers who simply can't buy from us as their credit card company sees a non-North American purchase as fraudulent and the credit card transaction is declined. Of course, this can be fixed, but for many North American customers, this attempted purchase is the first time they have tried to use their card outside of North America, the decline supports their initial view that buying from Gosport was really a risk too far. We very rarely manage to convert one of these potential customers. Ther is also a fear that a shipment from UK will incur taxes, in point of fact the tax-free import threshold in The USA is USD800, so that is really an unfounded fear. When entering the web store, North American customers will be directed (recognised by IP address) to a US version of ironheart.co.uk, where credit card processing will be performed in USA. Shipping could happen from US or UK. We believe that we will be able to offer a better service to our North American customers.
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Oh, and LA is half way to here for me…..
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Great news for all of us in North America, and even better news for those of us in SoCal!
Congrats on this big step
I know it'll be a challenge, but you guys are more than equipped to handle it. Looking forward to seeing the IHUK crew a bit more now, as I'm sure you'll be out on the west coast more often. -
Somewhere else to add for me to visit in August
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I’m sure that can be arranged
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Looking forward to more details. I will say one of the things I have enjoyed about IHUK is getting precise measurements for pieces I am buying. I am assuming this would still happen with a North American location, excited for the change, but I will miss the specialness I feel I get from IHUK…
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You will get the same service. Think of it as one virtual shop. We will use the same email management system and the same shop software, any employees in the US will spend time in UK to understand how we do what we do. UK staff will spend time in the US, making sure that the workflow and how the work is done mirrors what is done currently in the UK.
We will keep some of the best sellers in the USA, but the majority of the stock will be in the UK (we can't afford to fill another warehouse with over USD500K of inventory
:))This is how things work at the moment. Let's assume a west coast purchase.
Order comes in at 14:00 PST (that is 20:00 GMT) on Monday, nothing happens to that order until 09:00 Tuesday when we get in the office. If questions need to be asked, then it is unlikely that the order will ship until Wednesday.
And how we envisage:
Order comes in at 14:00 PST, the customer is immediately contacted. Issues resolved. We can then ship Monday if product is the US or Tuesday if it is in the UK.
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Thanks for the reassurance! I know you all will take care of us and you wouldn’t be undertaking such a venture if the world class level of customer service couldn’t stay intact…just me being selfish given how big a part IH plays in my life (obviously nothing compared to you all).
I’m happy for you all and the growth of IH!
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I hope that I still can purchase from IH-UK. The customer service is unbeatable. I can’t put into words what a pleasure it is dealing with you guys. Every question answered, every measurement spot on, and the advice and assistance can not be equaled.
You guys are the benchmark for customer service!!
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If we have to (and no one know's what will actually happen), we will open up an operation in The EU. @Madame Buttonfly and I have already scouted locations and have some great options….
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I don't suppose you could share a sneak peek of the two lines you're starting? I'm curious if the style of clothing will be similar to what IH is putting out now.
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Also, any particular reason why you chose LA over other cities? Is LA considered the garment capital of the US?
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