Made in Japan! Ultra Quality iPhone Cases Hold the Spirits of Popular Characters [1/2]

Having a fixation about being made in Japan, Gild Design Ltd. brings iPhone cases to the world that shock fans with their high quality. Recently, we had a chance to sit down for any interview with the director of Gild Design, Shinichi Matsuba.

TOM: Can you tell us a bit about the history of Gild Design, from its inception until now?
Matsuba: When I stated the company in 1994, we manufactured aftermarket parts and racing parts for motorcycles. Due to the motorcycle boom that lasted until around 2000, our company was prosperous, but from then on, motorcycle sales in Japan began slowly decreasing. By 2011, sales had dropped to 1/10 of what they previously were.

At the time, I was into Apple’s products. When I bought a first generation iPod Shuffle (7-8 years ago!?), I used the machines in our shop to create an aluminum case for it. Due to our motorcycle parts business running smoothly at the time, I saw no reason to start selling them commercially. In 2008 when I bought an iPhone 3G, I again created a case for it due to having damaged the screen. I got many compliments on the case from friends who saw it, and many wanted one of their own. It was at that time that I decided to change our business model and began manufacturing them. Immediately after selling cases for the 3GS in March 2010, we began selling our present Solid series to match with the release of the iPhone 4. The series has gone on to become a big hit. Publicity for our products started by uploading a video to YouTube, and since then, we have been featured many times on TV and in magazines. Total sales for the iPhone 4 case is around 25,000, and in just half a year we have sold roughly 20,000 iPhone 5 cases

TOM: What is your reason for being fixated on being made in Japan?
Matsuba: One reason is the high level of precision craftsmanship. Of course, it also has a lot to due with my own personal liking of things made in Japan; I also think that it gives customers peace of mind. In opposition to Japan’s declining manufacturing industry, I want my products to have a positive influence.

TOM: Can you tell us the strengths of being made in Japan?
Matsuba: Precision that other companies can’t match. For example, the precision of the combination of the upper and lower parts of the case. It can be said that if they weren’t made in Japan, it would be difficult to ensure that measurement errors are less than 1/100 mm. Even with respect to burrs (small cuts or notches in the body that occur during manufacturing), other companies’ manufactured goods have many. However, we eliminate burrs using our computer techniques, and we want to preserve the high level of these techniques. Due to protecting the high level of our manufacturing, from the raw materials to our manufacturing and surface finishing techniques, customers can have confidence in our products and recommend them to others.

TOM: Why did you choose the iPhone case to be your flagship product?
Matsuba: I touched on this earlier, but I am a fan of Apple’s products, and I have used them frequently since the iPhone 3G. However, I previously damaged the screen to my iPhone. Also, in 2010, when we began making these products, the iPhone was dominating the smartphone market. Plus, once I became fascinated by Apple products, it became my favorite brand.

TOM: How did you come to start collaborating with anime?
Matsuba: The first anime collaboration we did was with Space Brothers. It started when my friend told me, “There is a case similar to Gild Design’s in the manga.” When I checked, sure enough, there was a case that was strikingly similar to ours, and the manga was depicting smartphones in the year 2025. I resolutely mailed the author, Chuya Koyama, and his response was, “I love Gild Design’s cases.” Surely, I didn’t think I would receive such a response, so I was very happy.

Koyama then introduced me to the well-known publisher, Youhei Sadojima, and we had a great discussion about moving forward with the collaboration. At the time, Gild Design was still relatively unknown. I’d say that the collaboration with Kodansha’s popular manga was a miracle.

We also collaborated with the game Metal Gear. Konami’s Kojima Productions got in touch with us and the decision to collaborate was settled. The game collaboration was much more speedy than the anime collaboration, and several companies were competing, so I was very happy when we were chosen. Since then, we have manufactured several collaboration products with Komani, though there are some that don’t have the Gild Design name on them.

(Interview to be continued)

Gild Design:
http://www.gilddesign.com/en/index.html