Have you ever looked at a piece of clothing and seen the letters ‘YKK’ printed on the zipper?
If you haven’t, you’ll now start seeing it everywhere.
Originally from Japan, YKK is a zipper company responsible for a staggering 50% of global zipper sales.
So how’d they get there?
Well, if a zipper fails on, say, a pair of jeans, the buyer blames the brand, not the zipper manufacturer.
Respected designers can’t afford to let a zipper ruin their reputation, especially when that item is produced by someone else.
In markets for cheaper goods, like zippers, it’s easy for companies to participate in a race to the bottom, with ever cheaper and poorer quality products.
YKK, on the other hand, took a different approach. Instead of following others with increased outsourcing, constant cost cutting, and ever reducing quality standards, it brought everything in-house.
It smelts its own brass, produces its own polyester, spins and twists its own thread, weaves and dyes its own cloth, and molds its own zipper teeth.
By doing everything itself, it ensures quality.
The ironic thing is YKK plays only a small role in each garment, but by doing that one job well billions of times, it has earned the unparalleled trust of designers and brands around the world.
It’s a classic example of being faithful with the small in order to be trusted with much greater responsibility.
A lesson applicable in business, and in life.