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Kiko's Korner
A place to spoil your pooch
by Robin Pierro, Darya Kotova, Noriyuki Sato
October 29, 2004
Princessfield is a spectacular boutique that sells high end, fashionable, products for dogs. They sell products such as leashes, toys, doggy carrying bags and basically any accessory imaginable for a dog. If you want to spoil your dog, Princessfeild is definitely the place to go.
Kazumi Himeda, a Japanese woman, who came to Canada four years ago to learn English, owns Princessfield. Kazumi barely passed high school while she was in Japan, and she never went to college, that is why her story is so captivating. It is rare to find a person with so much determination and so much passion.
When we spoke to Kazumi she said, "I was just lucky", but we would say her ability and efforts made the achievement.
When she first arrived in Canada, Kazumi had no intentions of opening a dog boutique, she was struggling to learn English and get accustomed to the new society.
Sometime after Kazumi came to Canada, she purchased her first pet, a toy poodle named Pom. She now owns a Maltese dog named Bunny. Kazumi and Pom would often sit together, while browsing through magazines like Vogue. One particular day Kazumi came across some products that she wanted to purchase for her beloved toy poodle. Kazumi searched the city of Toronto for a store that sold high end, fashionable dog products, but found herself quite lost, because there was no store that specialized in this rare business. Kazumi became inspired to open her own store at that point. She began to research what stores and suppliers in the U.S. that sold products for spoiled pooches like Pom or Bunny, and once again discovered that even in the U.S the type of business she was looking for was rare. Kazumi did eventually discover a few suppliers that carried items that she felt would be suitable. She worked further on creating the boutique, without even knowing the official business terms of what she was doing. It wasn't until later that she realised what she had gone through was merchandising, lending, financing and management.
Two years after moving to Canada, Kazumi opened her first store location at 178 Avenue Road, and called it Princessfield. The name Princessfield comes from Kazumi’s Japanese last name, Himeda. Hime translated into English means princess and Da, translated, means field. So Kazumi ended up with a perfect name that tied her Japanese heritage in with the very "girlie" boutique.
Kazumi explained to us about her parents, who still live in Japan, and how they were not very supportive about opening the store. They tried convincing Kazumi that it would not work out, but her determination and passion was so strong that she ignored her family's pleas. She also told us she has been very encouraged, supported, and recognized in Toronto.
After the first store location was opened, business was going very well, and Princessfield began to become a known store for high end dog products. It became the kind of opportunity Kazumi had hoped for when she came to Canada.
Holt Renfrew, a giant in the field of high-end fashion, heard about Princessfield and they made it their personal mission to get them to join the Holt Renfrew Company. The vice president of Holt Renfrew came to the store to check things out, and after discovering a delightful display of products decided to make an offer to Kazumi’s partner. At the time Holt Renfrew came to the store, Kazumi was visiting in Japan, so it was up to her partner to make a decision. He first refused the offer, because the expense of having a boutique in Holt Renfrew is quite high, but when the Vice President insisted that something could be worked out, Kazumi’s partner said he’d wait for Kazumi to get back then they could make a final decision. When she arrived back in Canada and heard the news, she too was wary, but decided to give it a shot anyways.
The new store in Holt Renfrew located at 50 Bloor Street West, downtown Toronto, is doing quite well. Though the original store location is the "home base" and is where Kazumi spends most of her time.
Kazumi is a very passionate woman, she enjoys her business, and it is basically her life. She would like to open her own clothing line one day, and we don’t doubt for one second that this remarkable woman can do it. If she can achieve two stores within two years, after having so much struggle with the language, the culture gap, different food, different laws, and being very far from her family, she can accomplish anything.
If you are ever looking for a way to spoil your pooch, Princessfield is the perfect place to go. Kazumi, who has a fantastic fashion sense, has selected every product in the store. This story is so inspirational; it sends a message out to those people who feel that they cannot accomplish a particular task, because if you have the determination that Kazumi Himeda has, you can do anything.
Robin Pierro and Darya Kotova are co-op student from Humberside, who is studying Journalism at the Canada Free Press. Robin has two part time jobs while attending high-school, and plans to study Journalism in university. Noriyuki Sato is an English student learning journalism and business at Canada Free Press.
