Japan plays an important role in the worldwide optical industry and Charmant is one of the major manufacturers of eyewear in the country which was tortured by earthquakes and a tsunami last week. Reason enough for director Taki Mizukami to launch an official press release to ensure that Charmant itself was in no way encountered by the disasters but feels very sorry for all the opticians in the damaged area and is ready to support them as soon as the situation allows it. This is the complete press release:
15 March 2011 Charmant Group un-touched by the disaster First of all, we would like to thank all of our colleagues in the industry for their outreach and concern over this tragedy. Based in Sabae-city, Fukui prefecture, more than 500 km at the west of Tokyo, the headquarters of Charmant Group and its production base are undamaged of the terrible disaster which has attacked the north east of the country at the end of the last week. Also, all the employees and their families are reported to be in safe including the sales reps and their families in that region. All the functions at headquarters including its production base are operated without any troubles and problems. In the meantime, the group has started to investigate the damages of around 1000 customers-opticians in the area who were in trouble by the tragedy and as soon as the situation gets calmed down, the group will start to forward all the possible help and support to them. All the personal of Charmant in Europe stand together with their colleagues and people in Japan for this awful circumstance.
Charmant certainly is not the only company reacting at the dramatic circumstances in its home country. Seiko Optical for example informed all its clients about the situation expressing its deepest concern:
Willich, 14 March 2011 Important announcement to all our customers and business partners: All staff of SEIKO Optical Europe is deeply shocked and devastated by the catastrophic incidents that have occurred in the home country of SEIKO in the course of the past few days. All our thoughts and deepest sympathy are currently with our colleagues and their families in Japan. According to the latest information, the families of all our Japanese colleagues based in Europe are fortunately well and are not personally affected by the disaster. This way, we would like to thank all our business partners and customers for their compassion and good wishes that have reached us in the last few days. The unimaginable force of the elements and the damages caused in the northern parts of Japan are very tragic for all of us. We can assure you, however, that our Japanese production sites are not affected at all and that production takes place as usual and to a full extent. Please note:Our Japanese production sites are located in Nagano and Osaka and are 800 and 1,600 km away from the centre of destruction at the northeastern coast of Japan. Therefore, we are able to supply all SEIKO products made in Japan as usual (a relatively small share compared with the amount of products coming from Lippstadt/Germany!). What is more, SEIKO has a network of production sites worldwide – in Europe, the U.S.A. and Asia – and can transfer orders to other countries on a short-term basis and carry out production and dispatch without delays. You as a customer of SEIKO can be sure that all your orders will be dealt with promptly – as always – and will be delivered on time. We thank you for your continued trust and for placing your orders with SEIKO. This is in fact another way of giving direct support to all SEIKO staff and their families in Japan. Yours faithfully, SEIKO Optical Europe GmbH
