I am from Tianjin. After graduating from a university specializing in software, I joined an IT company and worked as a programmer for about two years.

While browsing websites during work, I stumbled upon a page selling seals and became interested. I started thinking that there might be a business opportunity if I could innovate the manufacturing and sales methods. Thus, I established "Hanko Premium Co., Ltd." However, the beginning was tough. The Japanese seal industry has strong traditional connections, and as a newcomer, it was quite challenging to supply to trading companies. After several years of trial and error, I concluded that retailing through trading companies was not feasible and decided to focus on direct sales to end-users via our website. Through relentless efforts, we grew to be known as a leading online seal retailer.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as telework became more prevalent, there has been a reevaluation of Japan's "hanko culture," raising concerns that the demand for seals may shrink in the mid to long term. Therefore, our company has also embarked on new ventures. One example is our e-commerce business for furniture and curtains, anticipating the demand for telework-related products. Among these, we are particularly focusing on the security camera business. With the cooperation of our partner factories, we provide high-performance, low-cost security camera products to our customers, and we have secured large orders from some restaurant chains.

Until now, we have only dealt with online sales, but in April 2021, we opened our first physical store handling curtains and furniture. By meeting customers directly, we aim to gather real feedback that cannot be obtained online and use it to improve our products and services. Despite the headwinds of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are committed to continuing our positive challenges.