Improving Customer Satisfaction

Basic Concept

At GOLDWIN Group, we build and maintain relationships of trust with customers even after they purchase our products. This is achieved through running stores that maximize brand value, holding events, and operating our Customer Service Center and Repair Center, with a focus on dialogue with customers.

Promotion Framework

The GOLDWIN Group has created a framework for managing safety and quality in every process, from development to production, and from sales through to customer use. Our Sales Headquarters oversees operation of our stores, while our Ecommerce Department is in charge of the Customer Service Center and other operations. In collaboration with all relevant departments, including the Merchandise Department, Quality Assurance Department, and GOLDWIN TECH LAB, we employ the valued opinions of our customers in subsequent product development and service improvement.

Stores that Maximize Brand Value

We believe that our stores are the frontline in communicating brand value to our customers. We operate a range of shops in different styles according to the area and the customer demographic we are addressing, from highly specialized shops to family-oriented shops, and lifestyle shops. Our aim is to create shops that make customers feel comfortable, and where they are happy to spend time, by focusing not only on our product ranges, but on appealing to the senses of our customers through store interiors, textures, music, and smells.

THE NORTH FACE Sphere
(New athletics and sports store format)
THE NORTH FACE CAMP Yebisu Garden Place, PLAY EARTH KIDS Yebisu Garden Place, NEUTRALWORKS. EBISU
THE NORTH FACE STANDARD
(For urban outdoor enthusiasts)
THE NORTH FACE GRAVITY
(High-performance running gear)

Sales Convention (Sales Staff Training)

The GOLDWIN Group provides a range of information directly to customers through our directly managed stores, from the functions and applications of planned and developed products to usage scenarios and cautions. We are focused on two-way communication as a new customer experience.
Although the convention was postponed in FY 2022 due to COVID-19, we plan to resume it as soon as possible depending on circumstances.

Communicating with Customers

Our stores are also places that proactively show the attraction of sport, providing customers with opportunities to experience different sports. They are not only places to offer our products though. They are also where we hold various events and workshops, providing opportunities for valuable communication with customers.
We are also strengthening two-way communication with customers, not only in our stores, but also via the Internet. We are promoting online-merge-offline (OMO) retail, providing optimal purchasing experiences and information at all points of contact with customers, including our stores, website, e-commerce sites, social media, blogs, and e-newsletters. We believe that providing customers with the same information at the same time will lead to customer trust.
We also offer extra added value in the form of experiences, discoveries, and adventures, such as at the PLAY EARTH PARK event where participants create new ways of playing. The knowledge we gain from such communication with customers is fed back into the company and constantly linked to developing new products and services.

Live commerce on the GOLDWIN WEB STORE
Sales employees introduce products live via social media. User comments are replied to on the spot, facilitating two-way communication.
Events and workshops
Stores host a variety of events and workshops. The valuable insight we gain from interactions with our customers is used as internal feedback.

Customer Support Services

We have established the following three channels for responding to customer inquiries, depending on the nature of the query. In addition to responding in good faith to customer comments and requests, we are also deeply interested in their unspoken feelings as we work to build relationships of trust with customers. We employ the valued opinions of our customers as internal feedback to improve our products and services.

※ This table can be scrolled horizontally.

Support service Overview
Customer Service Center Inquiries, comments, and requests about brands and products
GOLDWIN WEB STORE Support All inquiries about the GOLDWIN WEB STORE
Repair Center Queries about product repairs

※ This table can be scrolled horizontally.

Support service Total number of inquiries Number of telephone inquiries Number of email inquiries Details Number of inquiries
CSC 16,447 10,957 5,490 Inquiries 8,033
Complaints 183
Comments and requests 1,830
Praise 15
Stock inquiries 4,487
Other 1,899
EC 19,368 1,932 17,436 Order-related inquiries 10,267
Website and ID inquiries 1,549
Product arrivals 1,936
Product-related inquiries 2,905
Product complaints 2,711
Repairs 13,940 3,950 9,990 Checking possibility of repairs 6,122
Repair application procedure 3,444
Checking details and delivery 4,082
Other 292

Improving Customer Service Quality

After customers engage with our Customer Service Center or GOLDWIN WEB STORE Support services, we ask them to complete a survey. In addition to feeding the survey results back to the relevant employees, we listen to recordings of the customer interaction to share positive comments and areas of concern with trainers so that the results can be utilized in future calls.

Mechanisms for Utilizing Customer Feedback

Once a month, details of inquiries received by our customer support services are digitized and compiled into a report, which is shared with all department managers. We also provide feedback on product quality-related issues to all relevant departments, including the Merchandise Department, Quality Assurance Department, and GOLDWIN TECH LAB, for use in efforts to prevent recurrence and improve quality.

Main Improvements in FY 2022

Improvement of THE NORTH FACE Baltro Light Jacket

We received complaints about the older style of jacket causing fabric to fluff or scuff due to the friction of the hook-and-loop fastener. We responded by changing to a softer hook-and-loop fastener.
As a result, fewer complaints about this have been received from customers.

Product Improvements through the Repair Center

Growing concern for the environment and other factors have led to a trend of products being used for longer periods of time. Consequently, the number of repair requests at our Repair Center has also increased. In 2004, we received around 3,500 requests per year, and in FY 2022, this had increased to 19,966. Customers who have requested a repair are asked to complete a questionnaire once their product has been repaired. The results of the questionnaires are provided as feedback to the relevant employees and used for new product development and improvement.

[Examples of Repair Improvements]
Product: THE NORTH FACE Drizzle Jacket
Details: The front zipper is a narrow double zipper, so its slider comes off easily
Improvement: The zipper on the existing product was changed to an open zipper. Customers requesting a repair will have the zipper changed to an open zipper free of charge.

Product: THE NORTH FACE Climb Light Jacket
Details: The slider on the front zipper comes off easily and is easily damaged
Improvement: The same zipper was used for the repair the first time, but on the second request, it was changed to a thicker specification zipper.

UI/UX Improvements on the GOLDWIN WEB STORE

Reflecting customer feedback on our e-commerce website, we are making improvements to the user interface (UI), such as layout, fonts, color scheme, and button placement, as well as the user experience (UX), which is the user’s sense of whether their experience using the website is pleasant.

Employee Education on Improving Customer Satisfaction

Recognizing that our employees are the first point of contact in customer satisfaction, we continuously provide various education programs to our employees.

Call Quality Training

Call quality training is provided every year at our customer support services. Each of the 23 staff members listen to about 40 minutes of randomly selected recordings of their phone calls, and together with a trainer, share what areas were good and what areas need improvement. Improvements are then implemented.

Style Photography Training for the GOLDWIN WEB STORE

More and more customers on our e-commerce website are making purchases after viewing “Staff Style” photos of our store staff wearing Goldwin products. We provide staff with training sessions on how to take more intuitive styling photos and videos. In FY 2022, two training sessions were held which were attended by a total of 62 employees.

Future Issues

To grow the GOLDWIN fan base, we will focus our efforts on activities that arise from dialogue with our customers. In particular, we will listen to the valuable opinions of our customers and continue to improve the quality of customer service in our stores, e-commerce website, and customer services, which act as customer contact points. We will also revise our internal systems to enhance information sharing, including with management, so that we can use the valued opinions of our customers not only in improving quality but also in developing future products and services.
In FY 2023, we also plan to renew our e-commerce website based on customer feedback to make it even easier and more rewarding for users.