It's been a while.
This is Kuroda from FRAT STORE.
It has been about a month and a half since we opened our brick-and-mortar store on February 23rd of this year. Things have settled down a bit, so I'm going to write a blog post for the first time in a while.
First of all, thank you to all the friends and seniors who came to the store. I'm really grateful that you came all the way to the store even though you said it was far away! Honestly, it was a huge help!
And thank you to all the customers who came to our store for the first time.
Over the past month and a half, we've met many customers, including those who came from far away after seeing us on Instagram and those who live nearby.
We are also very grateful to our customers who continue to shop online.
We have had so many wonderful encounters at the store and are really glad that we opened the shop. At the same time, we feel that we are very lucky to be blessed with good people.
However, there are many issues to be addressed and many things I want to do. I have been using my busy schedule as an excuse to not be able to properly greet everyone since I set up the store, so I would like to briefly introduce myself and tell you what kind of store FRATSTORE is.
FRATSTORE is basically run by myself, Kuroda ( ju_kuroda ) and Katayama ( katayanma_ ). (Sometimes with the help of super sub Namba-san)
The company originally launched as an online vintage clothing store in 2021, then held pop-ups in Tokyo and the countryside, before opening its own store in Mukoujima, Sumida Ward, Tokyo in February 2024.
Customers often ask me, "Why did you open your store in this location?" and there are only two reasons.
The first reason is that I had a special attachment to Oshiage because I used to take photos of products to upload online at Katayama's house in Oshiage ( it was convenient for me to open a shop near the Katayama's house ).
The second reason was that the atmosphere of the downtown area was comfortable. For us who come from the countryside, this atmosphere was comfortable, and we felt that doing business in a downtown area while valuing connections with people was a good fit for us.
In summary, I fell in love with this city.
The town is nice and the people are warm.
We will continue to work hard to be a store that is loved by many locals. We will spare no effort in operating our business to increase the number of people who love vintage clothing and become cool people in this town.
In order for the people who live in this town to like it, I thought I first had to make an effort to like this town even more than I do now, so I decided to move closer to my shop. I'm moving next week. It's going to be a busy time.
If you see me around town, please say hello. Let's go for a drink together!
It's time to tighten it up.
I hope that through this blog you can express your gratitude and learn a little about us and our store.
We are planning to send out many more messages in the future, so we appreciate your continued support.
Starting tomorrow, we will continue to work hard to make shopping at FRAT STORE worthwhile.
The next business day is Sunday, April 21st.
See you soon! Good night!
Kuroda