Resurrect from the crisis of bankruptcy! Why did domestic small and medium-sized manufacturers Belgard survive in baseball developed countries · Japan?

The chance to join the company is a model role of the catalog.

東武スカイツリーライン・蒲生駅から徒歩15分ほど行った、閑静な住宅街の合間に見えてくる「Belgard」の白い看板。建物は一見普通の住宅だが、引き戸を開けると1階部分は工場になっている。常時4〜5人ほどの職人が作業を行っており、ここで何十億もの年俸を得るメジャーリーガーの野球防具が制作される。 



Mr. Nagai, who is the representative, has been involved in baseball since childhood. I belonged to the grass team when I was in elementary school, and joined the baseball club from middle school. After that, he went on to Kodaira Nishi High School which was a new school at that time and planned the creation of the baseball club but said he did not realize it due to a complaint from the neighborhood. Although the ball history from there is only grass baseball, we have been supporting the player for many years from the standpoint of the manufacturer.

"The grass baseball team that I entered was the place where people from the printing company were gathering.It's printing the catalog of Belgaard, and as a model of the catcher there is not a good guy who is gathered to shoot It began to be involved, so I decided to finish employment at Belgaard as it was (lol) "

  当時ベルガードにはプロ野球チームからのオーダーもあり、ヤクルトスワローズ、横浜大洋ホエールズ（現・横浜DeNA）などの道具も製造していた。永井氏が入社して最初に任されたのはレガースの製造の最終工程である、組み立ての部分。一番始めに制作に携わったのは80年代を中心にヤクルトで活躍した八重樫幸雄選手の防具だったという。

In the meantime, Velgard did not practice sales activities as its own brands, and paid goods in the form of so-called OEM to major manufacturers. Changes in the way of baseball live broadcasting are greatly related to the background of OEM structure.

"The big maker also sold it under the name of Bellegard as it was, because the old television broadcast was taken from the catcher's side, not the center side as it is now, The catcher became very prominent as it was being taken from the side.It was around the time Furuta (Atsuya) came out, so the big maker started selling the product with its own logo .
Other manufacturers began to incorporate their logo in such a way as to follow that flow.Until then, the players of the former years had many people who bought the tools themselves, and in the case of protective gears, the teams bought and provided them. "

Suddenly bankruptcy. From one employee to the president.

It was in the year of 2012, 29 years since Mr. Nagai joined Bergard's face of the bankruptcy crisis.Gradually major manufacturers started placing orders for cheap manufacturers mainly overseas, and Belgard, which was centered on OEM, had largely dropped sales. And that day suddenly comes.

  「いつも通り働いていたら会社に知らない人が社長と一緒に入ってきて、会議室で話がありますと。その知らない人は弁護士で、『今日で会社はおしまいです。明日から入れないので、荷物を片付けて出ていってください』と言われました。たしかその場には12〜3人いたのですが、皆呆気にとられていました。」  

当時のベルガードに在籍していたのは15人程度。職人やパートのおばさんといった年配者ばかりだった。それでも社内では倒産への危機感が少しずつ高まってきており、OEMだけに頼らない、独自ブランド開発に向けて動き始めていた。 ベルガードブランドを確立するため、新たな「B」のマークを作って、よりメーカーとしての露出が高くなるグローブやバットなども企画が進められていたのだ。そんな矢先の倒産だったのである。

Mr. Nagai attended an entrepreneur training course with a view to independence with company's poor business performance, but decided to rebuild Velgade in the crisis of the brand dear to love.

「（独立に向けて）想定していたタイミングよりは2、3年早かったんですけどね。 会社が倒産すると管財人が入ります。その方は商標や商品などをできるだけ高く売って、債権者にお金を回さないといけないので権利獲得の交渉には時間がかかりました。 韓国企業から会社を買い取り、再建したいという話もあったのですが、他の会社に買収されれば技術だけ習得した後に元のメンバーを切られてしまう恐れもあったので、お断りしました。」  

After negotiating with the trustee, Mr. Nagai started a new Belgard four months after bankruptcy. Upon rebuilding, we started contracting the business by entrusting other companies with mask frames and helmets manufactured by our company. They need to be kept at their company for inspection and they take place.
As the company had a blank space for four months, dealing with major players has also stopped. A restart is a situation where the baseball season and the season overlap and it is difficult to negotiate with major manufacturers about OEM. In that case it is urgent to establish our own brand.

"It took about half a year until I got the company on the track, and the margin is inevitably narrow margin, it will be premised on thin profit selling, but if it's your own brand, you can make something firm while securing profits so It is a form that it shifted to. "

Newborn Belgard who made a restart from the beginning with Mr. Nagai in this way. It was a word-of-mouth review spread among major leaguers who helped to establish our own brand that is key to rebuilding.

＜続く＞　http://king-gear.com/articles/670


【ベルガードファクトリージャパン株式会社】 
埼玉県にある国産野球用品メーカー。2012年に前身企業が倒産し、当時社員だった永井和人氏が権利を引き継ぐ形で創立した。防具を中心にメジャーリーガーからプロ野球、アマチュア選手に至るまで幅広い層に根強い人気を持つ。 
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