Nigo keepin’ it fresh like raw fish

Photo by Jeff Minton for Portfolio

Portfolio magazine did a feature on Nigo, the ultra-rich creator of A Bathing Ape clothing brand. I blog for Portfolio.com once in awhile, and I was surprised to find that they would cover Nigo. The magazine tends to be a little “bougie” but apparently someone there thought this was important enough to give it a lot of space in the magazine.

Nigo, whose real name is Tomoaki Nagao, is at a crossroads in his career. He can either be a sellout and make Bape a much more international brand by opening more stores and pursuing other lucrative projects (Bape cologne? Bape sports drink? Bape condoms maybe?) or he could make the line more exclusive and go back to his Japanese underground roots.

The secret to Nigo’s success is that he fights to keep Bape fresh “as in raw-fish-in-a-refrigerated-case fresh. The clothes and footwear are intended to be seen as perishable; rare; manufactured that morning, perhaps; and presented for you in a sushi-bar-style display.”

It may be ova for NOVA

Hilarious pic (by burlydude3) found on Flickr. Usagi, the pink rabbit, was a very popular marketing tool for NOVA whose branches are frequently located near train stations. Marketers came up with the NOVA slogan “ekimae ryūgaku” (study abroad near the train station).

Sadly, NOVA’s train has left.

One of the easiest ways to get into Japan is through NOVA, the largest of the eikaiwa (English-teaching, privately-run companies in Japan).

Basically, what NOVA does is ship dumb schmucks (normally recent college graduates) over to Japan to teach. I heard they aren’t too selective, and they treat you like crap when you get there. But if you need a visa it’s one step better than advertising yourself as a mail-order bride. NOVA is the largest employer of foreign nationals employing some 7,000 foreign workers.

NOVA has had its experience of legal woes, but within recent months trouble in Osaka is leading the chain to cut at least 200 of its 900 branches and creep eva closer to bankruptcy.