Press & Awards
re-quest/QJ navi talks with our CEO Ken Kobayashi about opening in New York
On 5 September 2014, re-quest/QJ navi, a web magazine for hairdressers, published 「カットがうまいじゃダメ。美容の本場NYで求められる美容師とは」 — being good at cutting is not enough: what New York, the home of beauty, asks of a hairdresser. It is an interview with our CEO Ken Kobayashi about opening a salon in Manhattan.
The feature
The feature opens by noting that Japan's fine cutting skills are valued around the world, that more salons were opening abroad on the strength of them, and that, with the barber boom, many hairdressers were looking at New York again.
re-quest/QJ navi then asks Ken how he came to open a salon in Manhattan, in the heart of one of the world's most watched cities, and how it was going.
What it asks
Across three pages, the editors ask why he chose New York, whether he researched the area before opening, what he has felt since opening there, what matters most for a hairdresser in New York, and what advice he has for hairdressers thinking of working or opening a salon abroad.
Its photos show ASSORT NEW YORK as it was in 2014: the entrance, with its chic furniture and modern interior, and the styling area in black and white for a classic feel.
Our CEO Ken Kobayashi answered the interview.
The interview, in Japanese, can still be read on re-quest/QJ navi's website; the link is below. It shows Assort as it was in 2014.
About re-quest/QJ navi
re-quest/QJ navi is a job site and web magazine for hairdressers in Japan, run by the Japanese company Seyfert, whose group works on the problems hairdressers and salons face.
Thank you to re-quest/QJ navi, and to everyone who read the interview.
Written by Assort