5 Ways You've Helped Us Evolve Our Small Business

When setting out to create KIM+ONO, sisters and co-founders Renee and Tiffany Tam relied heavily on the support and guidance of their own family. KIM+ONO is an extension of a 30+ year family kimono robe business. Their parents opened their first shops in Chinatown, and now the sisters’ own kimono store stands on the same street as their parents’ shops. It’s a truly full circle moment.

It’s an incredible thing when family can support each other, but what we have found since opening our doors at KIM+ONO is that our customers have been a huge source of support and inspiration as well. As a woman-owned small business, we take feedback to heart and we’re constantly looking for ways to improve every offering we have. So over the years, you, our beloved customers, have been an incredible inspiration for our own evolution. You may not realize it, but our tiny team of ten takes in every piece of feedback and customer experience so that we can meet you where you are and bring you the very best we can. It’s these customer touchpoints that have helped us to evolve and grow so much over the years. So today in the journal, we want you to know all the ways you’ve helped our small business thrive, even during the most challenging of times.

When you purchase a women’s silk robe or charmeuse kimono wrap from our kimono store or online shop, we always want to know what you think. From the moment you pick out your favorite to the moment you slip into your new piece, we hope you fall in love with your women’s silk robe and the experience in purchasing it. We take so much insight from the reviews you leave us on our website. Like this review from Jenny, “I have 2 KIM+ONO robes. They are so beautiful I can’t stop buying them! They are made out of the most incredible silk, it’s like you are wearing water when you put it on. Truly worth every penny.” And this review from Frankey, “I loved this robe! I bought it for a dear friend of mine who is going through chemotherapy. I myself am a cancer survivor and I know from experience how important it is to feel comfortable and still feel beautiful during the whole process. When I seen this robe I fell in love with it. The material is soft and cool to the touch. The print is just stunning and the velvet trim adds that little extra flare. My friend loved it. Thank you. I’ll be ordering one for myself soon.” When you share these reviews, you share what’s most important to you, and those things are important to us, too. Whether you’re buying for yourself or for a friend, we want every kimono wrap and robe to be exactly what you imagined, if not better. Thank you for all the kind and helpful reviews you have left for us!

We ran so many initiatives during the toughest part of lockdown because of customers like you, supporting our small family business. Not only did you help us to give back to our community with your support, but you helped keep our employees at work. While we had to temporarily close our brick and mortar kimono store due to shelter in place orders, we were able to keep our online team working. Our orders processing team continued to take every safety precaution to show up to work and make sure your orders shipped out in a timely fashion. Our design team continued to develop new women’s silk robes and plus size kimono robes based on your feedback. Our customer service team continued to answer all of your questions. And then, once our kimono store in Chinatown, SF could open back up, our store team was able to come back to their jobs. All of that was made possible by the gracious support of our customers, who had our backs during the most challenging of years.

Each time you come into our kimono store to tell us about your bridal kimono robe, or you reach out to our online team to tell them about how your plus size kimono robe makes you feel, you help us better understand what these men and women's kimono robes mean to you. You have shown us that these pieces aren’t just a little bit of luxury (although they are that, too!), but they give you a sense of confidence, well-being, and help create meaning in everyday moments big and small. Your stories have helped us focus and further define our mission to bring these modern kimono wraps and robes to everyone, no matter who you are. You’ve helped us embrace the idea of inclusivity and that a kimono robe is made beautiful by the stories and lives of the people who wear them. We are committed to that mission now more than ever, and we’re so grateful you’ve shared your stories with us.

You have helped us evolved by giving us feedback! Perhaps most technically, our kimono robes, from our plus size kimono robes to our kimono wraps have been impacted by what you ask us for! We take every bit of feedback to heart and share these customer insights among our team. You asked for pockets, so we brought pockets to the newest colors of our kimono wraps. You asked for silk in our plus size kimono robes, so we brought both Washable Silk and Printed Silk to our Curve Collection. Each piece of feedback is always shared with our whole team and we couldn’t have grown our collection to where it is today without your generous feedback.

We hope you know how valued you are to us. And that’s why we want you to take advantage of every discount and promotional program we have to offer! Make sure you’re signed up on our VIP list to be the first to know when discounts and sales are available. Refer a friend so both of you can save. And don’t forget to enter your birthday into your email preferences so we can send you a little gift on your special day. Thank you for all the ways you’ve helped us evolve over the years. We are so grateful to be a small pat of your everyday.