Hero Interview: Kitazawa Co., Ltd. — "Eliminating Bedding Purchase Regrets" — Growth Story from the Launch of Bedding Brand IWONU

Since 2022, StoreHero has been supporting the growth of Kitazawa Co., Ltd., the company behind bedding brand "IWONU." We sat down with Mr. Kitazawa, the brand director, to hear about the brand's origins, product features, and vision for the future.

The Birth of "IWONU" and the Story Behind the Name

Kurose:
Today, I'd love to hear about the journey from IWONU's launch to where you are now, and your vision going forward. First, could you tell us about your role and responsibilities within the IWONU brand?

Mr. Kitazawa:
As the director of the IWONU brand, I oversee a wide range of functions — from order management and product procurement to customer inquiries, new product planning, and inventory management. I also handle video production, social media posting, and LINE distribution management. We entrust StoreHero with advertising operations, while a separate team member handles newsletter content creation.

Kurose:
You certainly wear many hats. Could you tell us more about how the IWONU brand came to be?

Mr. Kitazawa:
Kitazawa Co., Ltd. originally focused on wholesale, but we recognized the need to sell our own products in response to changing market conditions. We have always had a deep passion for bedding — not just reselling what we sourced, but offering high-quality products we truly believed in. Mattresses became our key focus, as they have a significant impact on sleep quality and the market was growing. That's how we launched the IWONU brand.

Kurose:
By the way, what is the meaning behind the brand name IWONU?

Mr. Kitazawa:
The name "IWONU" is derived from the word for "to sleep" found in the "Man'yoshu," Japan's oldest anthology of classical poetry. Our company has over 70 years of history, and we have always held the importance of sleep close to our hearts. We wanted to capture that spirit in the brand name. It might be a bit difficult to read at first, but we were confident that over time it would become recognized as a proper noun. That's why we chose it.

Trial and Error in Launching Direct-to-Consumer E-Commerce on Shopify

Kurose:
When you first came to us, we discussed the target persona for the IWONU brand. We've since worked together to improve landing pages, advertising, CRM, and the website itself based on that persona. How did you originally develop that persona? Did you conduct customer interviews?

Mr. Kitazawa:
Initially, I created the persona based on my own imagination. We built our strategy around an idealized image of who our customers would be.

Kurose:
After actually running the business, did the real customers match that persona? We conducted customer interviews together after launch — were the actual customers close to what you had envisioned?

Mr. Kitazawa:
In reality, the actual customers were quite different from our initial persona. We had originally targeted "tired mothers raising children," but when we conducted interviews, the majority of buyers turned out to be newlyweds. While a small number of single buyers were present, the predominance of newlywed couples was unexpected. This made it clear that we needed to revise our persona.

Kurose:
There's so much you can only learn by actually selling, isn't there? It's common to deepen your customer understanding and refine your sales approach as you go. Were there any initiatives that resonated particularly well — or ones that didn't work as expected — once you started selling?

Mr. Kitazawa:
The biggest insight was discovering that many customers purchased specifically because of the mattress's ability to be divided into sections. We found that a large number of buyers had moving in mind when they purchased, so we highlighted this feature in our ad banners. During moving season in particular, messaging around "easy to store and carry in sections" proved very effective.

Kurose:
With customer interviews and surveys guiding us, we were able to refine our advertising messaging together with greater precision.

Initiatives with Instagram, Affiliate Marketing, and CRM

Kurose:
How do you feel about your Instagram presence and affiliate marketing efforts?

Mr. Kitazawa:
To be honest, Instagram was difficult in the beginning — it was hard to see concrete results. There was a period when we were posting four to five times a week, but the connection between those efforts and actual sales wasn't always clear. That said, I do feel that Instagram has steadily increased brand awareness over time.

Kurose:
What about affiliate marketing?

Mr. Kitazawa:
Affiliate marketing has had a significant impact on mattress sales in particular. Word-of-mouth and reviews generated through affiliates were also very effective. In the early stages, affiliate marketing became one of our primary revenue drivers.

Kurose:
For a product like IWONU's mattresses — which carry a higher price point and where many customers feel uncertain before purchasing — having affiliates thoroughly understand the product and convey its appeal from a third-party perspective is very effective.

Mr. Kitazawa:
Since the consideration period before purchase tends to be longer, we found it effective to use a mattress diagnostic tool to offer personalized recommendations based on each customer's concerns, followed by CRM communication tailored to those diagnostic results.

Kurose:
Rather than CRM focused on converting buyers into repeat customers, CRM that supports customers who are still in the consideration phase is particularly effective for high-ticket products like IWONU's.

Our Work with StoreHero

Kurose:
When you first came to us, you were essentially starting from zero revenue. We've executed a wide range of initiatives to drive results. Looking back, how do you feel about our work together?

Mr. Kitazawa:
Together with StoreHero, we built a sales engine on Shopify integrating advertising, CRM, and affiliate marketing — and revenue has grown as a result. Rather than simply running campaigns and moving on, we consistently measured effectiveness through data and iterated on improvements. I feel we've steadily accumulated real results. Going forward, I believe we need to further expand our content and broaden our reach.

Kurose:
You've been turning customer interviews into written content — "Customer Voices" — and featuring them on your site. I believe this has been effective in building trust, and it also works well as content within email campaigns. It would be great to continue growing this type of content and reach an even wider audience with the appeal of your brand and products.

Mr. Kitazawa:

Absolutely. Yes, it would be great to keep adding more customer interviews.

Kurose:
Looking ahead, what direction do you see IWONU growing in?

Mr. Kitazawa:
Our goal remains unchanged: to introduce IWONU to as many people as possible and provide them with quality sleep. In particular, we want people who are working hard — whether in their careers or in sports — to use our products and contribute to improving their performance. We want to grow into a brand that supports people's lives by enhancing the quality of their sleep.

Kurose:
That's a wonderful vision. It's also a very inspiring story for businesses looking to establish their e-commerce operations. Thank you so much for sharing your insights today. We're truly excited to see IWONU continue to grow!

Mr. Kitazawa:
Thank you as well.