"There is no plan to survive the collision with an unexpected reality. No matter how much preparation you do in advance, when the real world meets you, you have to adapt somehow."
Torben Andersen, CEO of Project Nord, reflects on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company's plans to enter Japan and the lessons learned from the predicament.
Project Nord is a Nordic art poster brand born in Denmark.
It was founded in 2018 with the aim of spreading Nordic design culture and the environmental awareness unique to Nordic companies to the world.
Torben decided to launch a new project with COO Greta Dobai, who was interested in the art business.
In 2019, they decided on Japan as their first overseas expansion.
The reason they decided to enter Japan, which is far from Scandinavia, was because CEO Torben's parents had lived in Japan for a long time and because there are many cultural similarities between Scandinavia and Japan.
The background to the rich design culture of Scandinavia is said to be the culture of valuing things and preferring a simple way of life.
Similarly, it is surprisingly easy to find cultural commonalities with Japan, where a simple lifestyle in harmony with nature, as exemplified by "wabi-sabi" and "zen," has traditionally been valued.
Torben Andersen, CEO of Project Nord
|
We are steadily preparing to enter the Japanese market in the fall of 2019.
First, we started marketing mainly on Instagram and social media. We got a very positive response from Japanese influencers
who are active on social media , and we felt that we were on to something good, so we quickly moved on to launching a Japanese website. Project Nord posters have been particularly well received by young women, who praised them for making an accent piece for their rooms.
|
" LIFE OF A SAKURA " is a poster that depicts the story of cherry blossoms blooming in spring and then falling.
|
"LIFE OF A SAKURA" depicts the story of cherry blossoms blooming in spring and then falling in one poster.
At the same time that the company decided to forge ahead with its expansion into Japan, the COVID-19 pandemic began to wreak havoc around the world.
International travel became impossible, and global logistics were hit hard.
In mid-March 2020, the number of infected people also began to increase in Denmark, and a lockdown was issued.
COO Greta Dobai reflects on her feelings at the time.
"The truth is, it didn't have much of an impact at first. The office was closed, so all the employees stopped coming to work, and we just introduced telecommuting. Until the end of March, I didn't feel that there was any particular impact on the business itself."
|
Greta Dobai, COO of Project Nord
|
However, things changed dramatically at the end of March.
At the time, they received a sudden phone call from the printing company in Germany that they had entrusted with printing the posters.
They told them that flights to Japan were being canceled one after another and that they could no longer ship the posters.
However, at the same time, orders from Japan were flooding in.
"We put all our energy into finding a printing company in Japan as a temporary solution, but we hit a big wall. It was very difficult to find a printing company that could handle on-demand printing, environmentally friendly ink, and the five sizes we offer. Meanwhile, orders from Japan continued to come in," says Greta.
In times of difficulty, it is important to use your wisdom and get moving. In an uncertain situation, they use their creativity and take every possible measure.
"After considering various options, we decided to ask a reseller (retailer) in Japan to ship the posters as a last resort. Our top priority was to somehow ship the posters to our customers."
Fortunately, the Japanese reseller responded to our sudden request and we were able to resume deliveries smoothly.
|
A view of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark where Project Nord is based.
