Today we’d like to introduce you to Ricky Takizawa.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ricky. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am originally from Japan and I came to Los Angeles back in 1996 at the age of 22. I went straight into the vintage clothing world and began making t-shirts with my friends.
I started the first POPKILLER store on Sunset Blvd. in 2003. In 2006 I opened up a second store in Little Tokyo, a third in 2009 located in Los Feliz, a fourth in 2011 at LAB in Costa Mesa and the fifth and latest once again in Little Tokyo. We also have our HQ/printing facility called the POPFACTORY in the Arts District, where we have operated out of since 2008.
I ended up having to close three stores (the Sunset, Los Feliz and Costa Mesa locations) due to changes in the retail industry and have now focused on the two locations in Little Tokyo. One houses our original T-shirts and the other is a vintage and accessories shop.
Lately, we are enjoying making our brand stronger with organic synergy by collaborating with creative forces such as artists, photographers, influencers, DJs, as well as local bars, cafes and beyond. We work alongside these people to create apparel and host pop-up events at our retail locations alongside them. We just had our 13th anniversary in December, which had a great turn out for the celebration.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The first four years of POPKILLER, from 2003-2007, went very smoothly. However, once the financial crisis of 2007-08 took place there began a huge increase of online businesses within the clothing industry, making it very tough to keep retail locations opened. It certainly was a difficult time for many, even beyond just clothing retailers; we’re happy to have gotten past it.
Please tell us about POPKILLER.
POPKILLER, simply put, is a clothing store comprised of Japanese and American pop culture Inspired wear and accessories.
We’ve gotten to create this sort of concept for our retail store out of my knack for finding specific content that is structured around good vintage clothing/vinyl, designs as well as collaborations with other local and Japanese artists/brands. As the CEO of the company, I do the creative directing and vintage buying. I’m always going back and forth from L.A. and Japan, continuing to connect with creative people and through this, I’ve kept gaining more and more inspirations for the brand throughout the years.
Pricing:
- Our original t-shirt $28-$50
- Our vintage clothes $30-$150
Contact Info:
- Address: POPKILLER (Vintage / Accessories)
343 E second St Los Angeles CA 90012POP LITTLE TOKYO (POPKILLER T-shirt Flagship Store)
349 E Second St Los Angeles CA 90012 - Website: www.popkiller.us
- Phone: 213-613-9800
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @popkiller_us
- Facebook: popkillerbrand
- Twitter: popkiller_us
