. looking at the footwear industry, he said, "It's boring.

The "Unique" was introduced in 2014 and is now the signature model of "Keen." What are your honest impressions of the past three years, taking into account the response in Japan and, for that matter, the world?

Laurie.. I am very happy when people who use "Unique" tell me that they love it. . But actually, right after we completed "Unique," I felt like I was in a state of depression. . Because we were so focused on creating "Unique" that we didn't pay attention to the sales and response after its release.

Personally, I am grateful that a lot of "uniques" are selling well, but if anything, I think the process of making them is the first thing that matters. . so once the process of creating was gone, I felt empty and down. At the beginning of these three years, I didn't know what to do, and I even thought I might as well retire (laughs).

Three years after the debut of "Unique," a new "Uniquebot," a unique manufacturing robot, is now on the market.

Laurie.. The development of a robot had been a long-held dream of mine since I first came up with the idea of "Unique". We were supposed to be able to invest in a robot if we achieved a certain level of sales, so I was happy that "Unique" sold well. Since the robot project started in earnest, it has been moving nonstop until today, as if the empty time until then was a lie. In "Unique" as well as in "Uniquebot" that I mentioned earlier, it is not what we have created that is important, but the process of creating it that is important.

What made you decide to develop "Uniquebot" in the first place?

Laurie.. I have always looked at the footwear industry and thought, "It's so boring. The way shoes are made has not changed in over 100 years, has it?　Of course, materials have evolved, but the structure has not changed at all. I wanted to change the entire game (shoemaking), and I wanted to make shoes with robots, which is why I developed "Unique. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that I developed Unique because I wanted to make shoes with a robot.

So you wanted to make shoes with a robot, and "Unique" was born as a result?

Laurie.. 100% of the time, that is true. Robots are precise and can repeat the same actions. Unique" also repeats the same pattern, because it has to be precise in order to fit the foot properly.

In an interview with "HOUYHNHNM" about a year ago, you said that you wanted to explore the idea of something completely new.

Laurie.: Yes, that's right. But at that time, I kept the robot a secret, so I only told about it to about three people on the same project team. . Maybe I was a little scared. After all, crazy dreams are not something you tell people about.

. no one has lost their job as a result of the development of Uniquebot.

What is the attraction of Uniqbot for us "unique" users?

Laurie.. good question. The most important thing to remember is that a well-designed robot can be operated anywhere by anyone (of a certain skill) with a power source and compressed air.

How can you be more specific?

Laurie.: You can see the process of making it up first. It is quick to complete and can be customized. The "uniquebot" is able to make it face to face with the consumer.

I heard that "Uniquebot" will reduce the burden on the environment.

Laurie..: When shipping products, the cost and time of transporting products from the production plant, CO2 emissions from fuel consumption for transportation, and packaging materials can be reduced. . In addition, about half of the electricity used to power the "Uniquebot" for this event was generated by solar power.

On the other hand, I think this is connected to the social problem of "robots taking away human jobs.

Laurie.. As I worked on the robot development project, I realized that the society in which my two daughters will live and the jobs they will have will be very different from the world we live in today.

As for the "Unique Bots," no one has lost their job since they were created, and in fact, more jobs have been created. Even at Keane's headquarters in Portland, a new job in project management has been created. New jobs have been created in Japan as well, such as hiring engineers. The company that programmed Uniquebot is now five times larger than when we first partnered with them. Of course, we are not saying that this is because of the work we did for them, but....

For Keen, it was about innovation, about "changing the way shoes are made. We wanted to make it possible to make shoes anywhere. However, the issues of automation, mechanization, robots, and artificial intelligence are major social issues. . I think it is an issue that mankind will have to seriously consider in the future.

The future of making unique in 15 minutes.

How do you plan to develop "Uniquebot" in the future?

Laurie.. The ultimate goal is for a customer to come into the store, order a "unique" shoe, and wait while sipping a cup of coffee ordered separately, and by the time he is finished, the "unique" shoe is ready. At this point, the average time it takes UniqyBot to make a shoe is a little over 30 minutes. If we could reduce this to 15-20 minutes, it would be possible.

So, in the near future, "Unique Bots" will be installed in each Keen store?

Laurie.. in fact, I'd like to have one in each household (laughs).

Unique" is constantly evolving, but you are also actively collaborating with various artists, etc. Please tell us about that.

Laurie.. I think collaboration is a trend in the industry as a whole, not just in footwear. I'm not saying that collaboration is the future, but it makes sense from a marketing standpoint. Most of it comes from social media. For example, if two collaborators have 5,000 friends who are friends with each other, then the collaboration will reach a total of 10,000 people, and the collaboration will also create new friends. But you also need to be careful. You have to protect your own brand. Whatever you do, don't overdo it.

If there is anything you can tell us about the next development of "Unique," would you please tell us as much as you can?

Laurie.. but I can't announce it yet (laughs). But I can't announce it yet (laughs). Please look forward to it.

What is your vision for the future of "Keane"?

Laurie.Keane was started with new ideas and innovations, and we will continue to search for new ideas and innovations. In addition, Keane will continue to be even closer to its fans (users). One reason is that we want to make things for our fans .

Lastly, could you give a message to the fans of "Unique" and "Keen"?

Laurie.I would like to thank all of you who have been wearing Keen shoes. I said earlier that I don't care about sales, but it makes me very happy to hear from people who are wearing our shoes and who say they are fans.

. and please, think outside the box. Uniqueness was realized because we were not bound by preconceived notions. If you are going to dream, don't be afraid to fail and dream big!　However, if you really want to make your dream come true, try so hard that you die from trying too hard (laugh)!　If everyone in the world worked toward their own big dreams, the world would be a much better place than it is today. . This is the recipe for achieving "uniqueness.