Iron Heart Nagoya

[Brandrea33]

I am very happy to pay a markup to IHUK because without them I would not have the slightest clue how to buy their products. I have tried shopping the Japanese websites for items from brands like Buzz Rickson and Lee Japan. It has proven to be a frustrating waste of time and that’s why I am glad that IHUK exists. Awesome customer service in my language and super fast shipping make it all worthwhile for me.

Couldn’t agree more.

As for pricing, it’s all relative. Some people would think it’s nuts to spend $1500 on a leather jacket

 

[konadog]

Iron Heart would not be the strong brand it is today without the marketing of Iron Heart International. Their prices are comparable to Freenote, Stevenson, Mister Freedom, Flat Head, etc. and the product is as good. I see this as well operating relationship between manufacturer and sales team more than a party being greedy. This is how business works. If you want to highlight greed, look at the markup Starbucks does on beans.

 

[Aloysius]

Yeah yeah I know all about the IRON HEART ARMY.

 

[BloodEagle]

Theres a Dean Delray podcast out there where he talks to the guy from the UK based wing of Ironheart (Giles?) - it's quite illuminating and I have to say didnt endear me to the company. They have got some nice bits, Im wearing an IH shirt right now in fact, but they are wayyy overpriced and the people on their forums etc who obsess about 'fades' and dress like theyre in some kind of ultra-heavyweight denim armour/uniform are such dorks, and the absolute opposite of cool dressing.

 

[cbez]

We are also dorks

 

[BloodEagle]

Well yeah, but not that kind of dork

 

[Bennarion]

We always have a choice and it is very diverse, especially from Japanese brands

 

[red devil]

Yeah yeah I know all about the IRON HEART ARMY.

Didn't see the army try to invade the forum here though... as opposed to the TRIBE lol

 

[El Marro]

We are also dorks

Always good to remember this. I like to laugh at other people, but I’m also ready to laugh at myself.

Well yeah, but not that kind of dork

I don’t know man, it’s been a while but I have been known to go “full lumberjack” from time to time.

 

[TelemarkTumalo]

Value is subjective. $400 for a pair of jeans does seem exorbitant. Not a bad gig if you can get it. IH has done a good job in maintaining high quality, good service and an excellent marketing strategy. Free enterprise at its best.

 

[Observe]

I'm a cheap ass Wrangler dork lately. I've had a pair of 13MWZ for 3 years now, worn regularly, that show no signs of giving up.

 

[One Drop]

One good thing about the way IH maintains their high prices is that resale value stays high, so you can easily sell on anything that doesn't fit, that you grow out of, or want to flip for any reason, even with some wear.

I have no problem with companies that make high quality products and manage to charge and maintain high prices, what chaps my butt is companies that make crap and do the same, which is why I prefer heritage brands to so-called luxury ones whose only value is in the brand name and exclusivity, often not even the latter.

 

[Aloysius]

which is why I prefer heritage brands to so-called luxury ones whose only value is in the brand name and exclusivity, often not even the latter.

Whatever one's thoughts on Iron Heart (Japan or UK), the above reasoning, though common, is actually quite dangerous.

There are loads of unscrupulous companies engaging in the same bad fashion company practices, but for the "heritage" americana/workwear market. Be careful not to make yourself a mark.

 

[One Drop]

Whatever one's thoughts on Iron Heart (Japan or UK), the above reasoning, though common, is actually quite dangerous.

There are loads of unscrupulous companies engaging in the same bad fashion company practices, but for the "heritage" americana/workwear market. Be careful not to make yourself a mark.

I appreciate the comment, but respectfully have a different view of things. As a preface, I was mentioning this corollary effect as a way to take some solace or something positive from the IH and similar situations, not claiming it validates their strategy nor excuses it.

That said, I'm firmly against monopolies, underhand business practices and illegal cartels and price fixing, but if a brand can maintain value and profits by restricting distribution or vetting resellers, more power to them. These products we love discussing are not necessities, they are discretionary luxury purchases and there are many unscrupulous grey market distributors, counterfeiters, and resellers who can quickly kill a brand or create huge problems for the mother company.

To me it's akin to the problem of people buying up vintage items to the point of cresting scarcity and almost cornering a market, it's crappy for anyone looking for a bargain, or a deal on a specific item, but usually the demand arises from a sudden fashion and then the resultant scarcity, anyway. If you can't get what you want, look for something else that's often as good or better but that has not yet caught the eye of collectors and resellers, instead of complaining.

I've been doing this my whole life, mostly with clothing,, and musical instruments, from the age of about 15 years. Over the years I've worn Egyptian cotton dress shirts from the '40s, Western rodeo shirts and gabardine pleated trousers from the '40s and '50s in my teens, '60s Sharkskin suits, painted silk ties from the '40s, I wore a vintage double breasted tux to my HS graduating prom, I had a half-belt thick brown leather jacket from the '30s that looked straight out of Hollywood in that era, I telemark skied in army surplus Swedish wool pants and gaiters for years, all of our family camping gear was army surplus as a kid (I'll always fondly recall the smell of mouldy canvas, LOL), I've bought and sold legendary basses from over the decades, always trading up little by little until I ended up with a grail piece or an exceptional instrument, etc. I now own some beautiful old denim jackets and some amazing Western gear that I wear on stage, and a few choice vintage Stetsons and Borsalinos, but if I could ever have owned any of all that my life wouldn't really have been appreciably poorer and I would have found a different way to satisfy my curiosity for rare things, articles from the past, and example of fine craftsmanship and design from past generations.