What Has Iron Heart International Ever Done for You....
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This could probably just as easily go in Random Rants, but it also ties pretty directly into how I feel about business, success, and what I do for a living.
I need to spend less time on Reddit…
I think this is probably why I end up defending Iron Heart every time this subject comes up. I understand that you can buy certain pieces cheaper in Japan, sometimes substantially cheaper. If saving that money is your priority, then absolutely buy it from Japan. I have no problem with that.
What I don’t understand is the resentment toward a company for building a successful business around its product. Iron Heart sells through stockists where its margins are obviously lower, and when you buy directly from them they make a better margin, as they should. It’s their brand. They created it, developed it, built the distribution, employ people, carry inventory, support customers and have spent years growing the company.
I actually like seeing that success. I like seeing Giles semi-retired and enjoying his life, traveling, spending time on his boat or whatever you want to call it.(ship, motor yacht, i’m not sure what the English call it, but after reading this again that it might sound like I was being a dick, which I wasn’t trying to be. Although my wife says I’m really good at it.) I like seeing the people who work at Iron Heart seemingly happy, and I hope they make good livings, raise families, stay with the company and grow along with it. To me, that’s what a successful small business is supposed to do.
It reminds me of something from about 27 years ago. I was 26 and had been in residential construction for about half a decade. I had worked my way up to running jobs in the field for a large local builder and had just taken over a project in a pretty affluent part of Atlanta after the previous builder had been fired.
I called the ironworker who had been doing the project, and this guy pulls up in a legitimate Hummer. Not an H2 or H3, but the real Arnold Schwarzenegger-looking Hummer, black and completely badass.
I got to know him over the years. He was an Italian immigrant who had bought property on the west side of Atlanta back when it was worth almost nothing and built an incredible iron shop there. He was a legitimate craftsman. His company did everything from relatively small residential work to huge custom homes and commercial projects. He had even done the ironwork on Evander Holyfield’s enormous house.
Eventually he did some work at my own house and barely charged me anything beyond materials, if that. I’d visit his shop and see something interesting and ask about it. He imported containers from Europe filled with old architectural pieces, sculptures, ironwork, light fixtures and whatever else he found.
I’d say, “Man, those iron benches are incredible.”
“Take them.”
Or I’d see some hundred-year-old light fixture and ask where it came from.
“Take it.”
Just an incredibly generous and interesting guy.
Then I found out he also had a Ferrari dealer’s license. He’d import three Ferraris, sell two and keep one, or something along those lines. He always had his hands in something interesting and had built a very successful life for himself.
And I remember other builders looking at guys like that and saying, “I’m not using him. Did you see the Hummer he drives? Did you see his Mercedes?”
I never understood that mentality.
I looked at it completely differently. Good for him. He built something. He took risks. He became successful. He employed people. He created an incredible shop and became very good at his craft. If his work fit my project and his price made sense to me, why in the world would I resent him for doing well?
That’s basically how I look at Iron Heart and a lot of these heritage brands. I don’t need the person making or selling me something to be barely scraping by so I can feel like I got the absolute cheapest possible price.
I actually enjoy doing business with people and companies that have built something successful, especially when I appreciate what they’re producing.
If the value isn’t there for you, don’t buy it. Buy it cheaper from Japan. Buy another brand. That’s completely reasonable.
What I don’t understand is acting like the fact that a business makes money from you is somehow evidence that you’re being screwed.
Sometimes it’s simply evidence that you’re doing business with a successful company.
@selveldgesteps
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@northsouthdenimguy a lot of those guys bitching on a regular basis, have never walked a mile in the other man’s shoes. Easy to complain when you don’t understand the sacrifices that are made to get to where they are.
I’m not saying everyone doesn’t suffer to some degree, but I think it’s different when you’re not only looking after yourself, but a bunch of employees and their families counting on you.
The art is getting somewhere and not forgetting where you came from…(and fuck the ones who do).
…another rant from an aging old curmudgeon.
“our policy of no discussions regarding politics, religion, asparagus, and other controversial issues.” - Andrew
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@northsouthdenimguy looking at it another way, if a company is providing something of value / genuine quality, then something’s going wrong if the company’s not doing well. Of course something’s also going wrong if the company exploits its customers or employees, but that’s clearly not the case in your examples.
“His thoughts were red thoughts and his teeth were white.“
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Probably not, but this looks amazing.
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It just drives me crazy when people try to distill everything down to what the parts and pieces cost and then decide from there what they think a “reasonable” margin should be. Denim, boots, homebuilding, whatever. That’s just not how businesses work.
There’s something for everybody at every price point. I don’t wander onto the Rolls-Royce forum, assuming there actually is a Rolls-Royce forum, which would probably be entertaining as hell, and tell everyone they’re idiots for buying a Cullinan because my Yukon has four wheels, leather seats, gets me where I’m going, and therefore the Rolls is wildly overpriced.
Spending your free time hanging around enthusiast forums for expensive stuff just to repeatedly tell everyone they’re paying too much is a particularly strange hobby.
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Exactly. If a company is genuinely making something worthwhile and doing right by the people involved, I want them to be profitable. That’s what allows them to keep making it.
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Years ago, @Alex deleted my Reddit account. He did that because he knew that my ability not to react to completely stupid comments there, tended to zero. It was probably a good move, and for the goodness of my health a great decision.
I studied The Economics of Business and Trade at the London School of Economics, I was far from a perfect student, but I did learn a little about how shit works. I then spent the best part of 25 years running businesses internationally, I learned a little about how business works/does not work. I also learned a lot about how people from different backgrounds view the world and view business and relationships. I have always believed that this background gave me a skill set that was useful for setting up and running Iron Heart International. I once said to a friend who I respect a lot "I wish that I had set up IHUK years ago", his response was "the reason that you are successful is that you didn't, everything you learned doing other stuff prepared you to do what you are doing now".
So, what has Iron Heart International ever done for you?
Haraki knows the Japanese market, when I met him, he had no idea how to run a business outside of Japan. Despite the fact that I had never been involved in the clothing business, I convinced him that I could help him. And, I think empirically I have.
We set up a worldwide retailer network and gave physical access to Iron Heart in The West. Haraki would not have done that, he may have found someone else who could, but I got in there first.
People moan and bitch about us, and our role, and they love to circumvent out International channels to buy directly from Japan. But the irony is that much of what they love, much of what they want to buy, would not exist if it was not for IHUK.
UHFs
18oz denim
19oz lefty
UHR (was originally a mistake, and was just going to be one run, we pushed for it to become a constant)
Indigo/black denim
Indigo/indigo denim
14oz denim
Denim CPO's
Slubby denim (H made that for us, because he knew I wanted it, but never had the balls to ask him)
Duck type III's and vests
Whipcord pants
SneakersI could go on and on, but the fact is that a lot of the stuff that we all love, would not exist if it was not for us.
Haraki once asked me to form a global partnership and run the whole gamut together. I shied away from doing that, and if I regret not doing it now, it is because at least I could have shown the bird to the uninformed critics who say, but all IHUK does is buy shit from Japan and sell it at a premium.
When Haraki felt the need to move on and concentrate on just making stuff, who does he nominate to run the Japanese retail business, not someone from Japan, but Alex, who runs the International business? He did that because we have done and still do run a very successful business that most of the Japanese Amekaji brands are extremely jealous of.
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Oh yeah, they were top of my list when I decided to write what I did, then completely forgot about then...
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@Giles
and not to forget you created this place !
A place I would call home in terms of my internet activities . A place to share not only the passion for the brand , but share a lot of things from my everyday life like family and many other things. -
To answer the question in the title of the thread:
They sold me high quality clothing I enjoy wearing because they fit me so well. And they delivered outstanding customer service.
That, plainly put, is just about it. Seems to be something that is not to be expected from every company, but I'll put my money where I get what I want.
The price tag? I can afford it, and consider myself lucky to be in that position. I have utmost respect for the person buying less, because they have to save money big time to make that purchase, but still choose to do so despite having other and probably cheaper options.I feel myself drawn to the brand and this forum here, because it has created something in addition to just the purchase, which is mainly because IH International deliberately chose to get customers involved. This is something which I did not expect, but what was very familiar concept from topics I consider a hobby. I always find it fascinating how IH has crossed that line from simply consuming a product to actually engage with others, making it worthwhile to stay on here. It probably addresses a basic human need for community. Still does not explain why I try to hunt down rare IH pieces all over the world, though.
The 'bitching' part seems to mainly come from people I have no interest in listening to. People who define themselves by what they wear and what appearance they create.
That is just vanity combined with a certain hollowness. I tend to stay away from those people, although I see that IH still must deal with them as customers.Judging from afar, those bitching around most loudly are probably the people who have no expertise in running a business.
Or their business model is being an influencer who need to bitch around to gain attraction and that paycheck from youtube.
But on youtube, I never go for the videos with the reviews of boots, I'll go straight to the cobbler who made a video of fixing them.
If you bitch around topics where no one has asked for your opinion, and that is all you do, you probably should reconsider your life choices.
I'm sure there a numerous points to criticize even with IH, but there's enough space on here to address that with all due respect. Simply bitching around on the internet will get you nowhere. -
@Daniel-San I guess this brings us back to the oft-repeated line about the forum: I came for the clothes …
Every part of me (except perhaps my liver) is thankful for the forum, but it wouldn’t be what it is if it wasn’t underpinned by solid products and the way IH have chosen to do business.
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@northsouthdenimguy said in What Has Iron Heart International Ever Done for You....:
spending time on his boat or whatever you want to call it.(ship, motor yacht, i’m not sure what the English call it
Nor me
, It's a floaty thing that I unpark, drive from A to B and then park. I think sometimes I remember to call the kitchen a galley, but it's really just a kitchen.....Paula bumped into Sir Robin Knox-Johnston recently, and she told him that we now had a boat, but she apologised because it was a not a sailing boat. He berated her in in typical forthright style. "Paula, do not a apologise, I hate it when people get snobby and elitist about boats. What is important is that it gets you out on the water, and that is all that matters"
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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Well, I curbed my tire trying to avoid somebody this morning, so now I’m sitting here waiting on a tow truck to take it to the dealership down the road for a new tire. These 22-inch low-profile tires look great, but man, I’ve done this more times than I’d like to admit.
This is probably gonna cost me a CPO’s worth of repair dollars.
On the bright side, I have plenty of time to read all the posts in this thread…
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I was on a mission—a search to find exceptionally well-made clothing that I could actually feel connected to. Then I found my first Ultra Heavy Flannel from Iron Shop Provisions. Naturally, I had a ton of questions for Josh about fit and sizing, and to my surprise, he was unequivocally accommodating. That level of service and personal touch sent me diving into the farthest reaches of the world in search of more.
Somewhere along that journey, I stumbled across the Iron Heart Forum. I was immediately taken aback by the transparency of the ownership and staff, but even more so by the support the community gives—and continues to give—one another. There is something genuinely special about the culture that has been created within this community. Ultimately, that culture has been the hook that has kept me on this proverbial clothing journey.
Not many businesses create that kind of alignment with their consumer base. And, of course, that level of connection is bound to create some disgruntlement among people who view every interaction in life as a transaction.
To be honest, to hell with that mindset.
I work for a business that averages between $1 and $1.5 billion in annual revenue, with roughly 400 salaried team members and anywhere from 200 to 600 craft professionals. The way we have built unity and alignment within that organization is through a very similar approach: truth, trust, transparency, and an unwavering dedication to our core values.
That is why I recognize what IHUK has built.
Kudos to all of you at IHUK—and, of course, to Hiraki—for creating a sense of fulfillment that I never imagined I could find through something as simple as procuring clothing.
But that's the thing: it's never really been about the clothing.
It's the journey that's the hook.
And thank you all for being willing to be open, transparent, and engaged in the conversations along the way. That, more than anything, is what makes this community special.
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@tody I laugh regarding your comment about influencers…there have been a few who have reached out to IHUK over the years looking for freebies to promote the brand…
I also appreciate your thoughts on the vanity of it all and completely agree. It’s what turns me off to some brands as they became a status symbol for people trying to fit in/look important.
I don’t care what people wear, but more about who they are.
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I like this thread.
You've all pretty much nailed it. IH rules because they're amazing about getting you the best THING that you can buy. The unique quality products, the service....and without some trendy fashion image that screams "look at me, I'm expensive". IH built a community around lasting quality products they stand by and give full support to their customers. Most popular brands are just disposable status. IMO you all have the best customer relations of any company out there. Also pretty cool that I found the brand via motorcycling. -
Certainly you say “head” and not bathroom
