Photo/Illutration Tokyo-based socks manufacturer Glen Clyde's “Life Long” brand comes with a lifetime guarantee for replacement. (Kazuyo Nakamura)

Socks, that uninspiring staple of Christmases past, might actually get a warm festive welcome now that a Tokyo manufacturer is offering a lifetime guarantee for its products with replacement pairs.

Glen Clyde, based in the capital’s Nezu area of Bunkyo Ward, is pitching its appropriately named “Life Long” brand at people who care little about personal grooming, don't give a darn about mending holes and simply toss socks away when they become threadbare.

Priced at around 2,000 yen ($18) a pair, the socks admittedly are not cheap.

But they come with a warranty of a new pair for free if they wear out.

Since the socks hit the market in fall 2018, the company has sold more than 30,000 pairs.

The company's savvy president, 53-year-old Mitsuru Hashimoto, reckons that no more than 4 percent of his customers will ever require replacement socks.

To date, less than 1 percent of his customers have sought replacement pairs, putting the business on a profitable footing.

One customer purchased 10 pairs in one go, proudly stating, “(They are) my lifetime supply.”

Hashimoto said the idea of socks with a lifetime guarantee came to him as a marketing strategy to promote the product's durability and workmanship.

Glen Clyde rented a space with a desk in a corner of a factory in 1992, and still remains a small concern with about 10 employees. Before long, the company was designing “ankle socks” that paired well with sneakers.

Ankle socks initially got the cold shoulder from shops, but that changed after they were featured in magazines. The company eventually sold 250,000 pairs.

But within few years, socks made in China flooded the market.

“We were pushed out,” Hashimoto recalled.

That prompted him to look for a market opportunity where there was no obvious competitor.

Glen Clyde began building up its original brand with designs inspired by native tribes, one-size-fits-all socks that stretch and are easy to slip on, and products made with the highest-quality cotton. They are all manufactured in factories in Japan.

In 2017, the company opened a wholly owned retail outlet underneath the elevated railway tracks in Tokyo’s Ueno district.

The initiative was sparked by sluggish sales in the apparel industry and moves by stores to offer frequent campaigns with sharp discounts.

The only way to turn a profit when cutting corners so sharply is to sell in volume. With so many styles available, stores also have a problem unloading dead stock.

Falling profits also have led to wages declining in the sector over the past three decades.

Glen Clyde sought to sidestep the vicious downward spiral and shun discount sales. It also streamlined its stock, deciding it also made good business sense to state that some goods were “out of stock” sometimes.

To keep the business model alive, Glen Clyde needed a core product.

About that time, Hashimoto was introduced to a durable yarn used for bags and other accessories. The company produced socks with the yarn, which passed an abrasion test 30,000 times without leaving a hole. The standard passing grade for sock brands that have incorporated strict standards is set as more than 1,000 times.

Next, Hashimoto came up with the lifetime guarantee idea, reasoning that long-lasting socks would appeal to customers and stand out in the market.

Among those who have tested the lifetime guarantee are a customer who wears sturdy shoes for work and another who suffers from ingrown toenails.

“I used to have holes in my socks after wearing them only few times," a customer said. "It has been so stressful.”

Hashimoto is delighted to receive such comments from customers.

“I feel really happy to connect with customers like this,” he said.