After its successful entry into the Japanese eye wear market a couple of years ago, we were expecting the frenzy around J!NS PC glasses to run its course and die out as these kinds of hypes often do in Japan…But not only have JIN company stocks multiplied by six since the launch of the product, the company is planning on expanding to China and even entering the American and European markets. Considering the relatively short and domestic lifecycle of products in Japan, the lasting popularity of J!NS PC glasses is pretty surprising.
So what makes these glasses such a great hit?
All of this goes back to the company president. After JIN company employees heard him often complaining about how much working on his computer all day tired out his eyes, they started looking into what exactly was causing their president so much pain. Further research revealed several papers and articles about blue light emitting screens, energy-efficient light-bulbs and their link to eye stress. Determining the culprit of their president’s eye problem, the staff at JIN got to work…and approximately five years later came out with J!NS PC glasses.
Tested by eye wear professionals as well as by employees at a number of IT companies, the glasses garnered a good reputation from both word of mouth as well as through a carefully implemented promotional strategy. This included progressively lowered price adjustments, and collaborations with popular figures including ONE PIECE, Arashi’s Sakurai Sho, and even gaming hardware company Alienware.
The glasses are made out of a very flexible material and are available in a very wide array of color, styles, and sizes that suit both adults and children. Most importantly, users praise their wearability and the effectiveness of the blue-light filter in easing both eye strain and tiredness – benefits that also supposed to have the advantage of alleviating other work-related stressors including poor posture.
The distribution strategy of the glasses are also particularly interesting. J!NS PC glasses are very easy to get a hold of as they can be bought in either one of the country’s dedicated 500 stores, online, or more unconventionally at vending machines, and even at a drive-through in Gunma prefecture.
And if all of this hasn’t already convinced you that J!N kind of know what they’re doing here (and perhaps also that you may need to buy a pair), there is the price. Cheap glasses in Japan are not something that is hard to find – you can usually find something between 5000 to 20,000 JPY (50 to 200 USD). However, J!N PC glasses start at 3990 JPY (about 40 USD) and require no extra cost for any prescription single focus lenses, meaning that people can afford to own several pairs to suit their tastes.
This product offers not only real health benefits to a generation living in a world were computer usage is rapidly increasing and becoming the new office work norm, but also caters to those who want to use glasses as a fashionable accessory. In this context, JIN’s plans to export their innovative product don’t sound unfeasibly ambitious – especially since their brand has already gained a degree of popularity overseas thanks to online shops. How successful the product will be in European or American markets remains to be seen.
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