The Future of Hard-Off and the Role of Accessibility

2025/06/25

What prompted you to consider web accessibility compliance?

There are two main reasons why we decided to promote web accessibility.

First of all, we have a very wide range of customers, and I have seen firsthand the diversity of customers in terms of age, gender, nationality, etc. When I am in the storefront, I am aware that there are many different types of customers depending on the location of the store and the products and specialties they carry, etc. This diversity in the real world is even greater in the online world, where an even wider range of customers use our services and access information, so we strongly feel it is important to provide correct information to all customers, and from a CSR (corporate social responsibility) perspective, accessibility is an important issue.

The second point is related to our unique omni-channel strategy, "Link Channel," which places importance on maximizing the strengths of our real stores, and we have built a system that can flexibly reflect the characteristics and latest information of each store on our official website, official app, online purchase service, etc. However, because the information is highly updated, it is not practical to manually handle accessibility each time.

These two points are the main reasons why we decided to move forward with web accessibility support.

 

Have you considered implementing web accessibility in-house, such as with your own engineers?

We also considered the possibility of using our own engineers to develop the web accessibility system, since we have a subsidiary that is in charge of system development.

However, when we took into account the highly specialized requirements and costs for responding to international standards, catching up with legal risks, and optimizing the user interface that you mentioned when you made your proposal, we decided that we could provide more appropriate and higher quality products to our clients by entrusting this field to a business with a high level of expertise.

Accessibility is not a one-off project, but a field that requires continuous improvement and quality maintenance, and we decided to entrust our long-term, quality-focused decision to your company.

 

Did you consider other accessibility tools like Uniweb?

To be honest, we have rarely considered accessibility tools from other companies, and it was only after receiving your proposal that we really began to think deeply about the need for accessibility support.

 

How did you hear about UniWeb and why did you introduce it?

Our representative had the opportunity to work with your company and learned about your initiatives.

We also felt a great deal of sympathy for UniWeb's stance of "doing what is required by society as a business," and since our management philosophy places the highest value on "for society" as the axis of our business activities, we felt that the introduction of UniWeb was very meaningful as a means of fulfilling our social responsibility and decided to introduce the service.

 

Have there been any internal repercussions since you actually introduced UniWeb?

I recently had the opportunity to report on the introduction of UniWeb to our franchisees, and the overall response was extremely positive, and it also gave us a chance to reaffirm the social significance of such an initiative and the need for it from a CSR perspective.

 

Please tell us about the number of days and man-hours it took to implement Uniweb.

The implementation of UniWeb was very easy and required very little man-hours, which is exactly what you might expect from a company like yours.

The headquarter side only needed to spend a few hours checking the multilingual part of the system, but there were no major burdens or man-hours required.

 

We would appreciate it if you could tell us if there were any barriers to implementing the system within your company and how you progressed.

There were no major barriers to the implementation within the company, and I think the fact that there was a common understanding throughout the company that it was something that needed to be done was significant.

 

Why did you actually implement AI multilingual translation?

Until now, we had no mechanism to deliver information in languages other than Japanese, and we were not able to accurately provide real-time updates, especially information on store closures, changes in operating hours, sales, etc.

The UniWeb's multilingual translation function enables us to deliver this information to customers whose native language is not Japanese in a timely manner, which we feel is of great value, especially in areas where we have not been able to adequately address the needs of our customers.

 

What changes have actually occurred since the introduction of the system?

Until now, there have been few cases of customers who do not speak Japanese contacting the Customer Service Center directly, and since no comparison can be made between before and after the introduction of the system, no major changes have been felt.

Until now, we have had pages in English and Chinese, which have incurred costs for translation, updating, and other maintenance. we feel that the introduction of UniWeb will be a great benefit to us, as we will be able to reduce the management costs of our dedicated pages to the absolute minimum.

 

Do you have any future goals?

As the reuse market has matured over the years, customers have a variety of choices, and Hard Off has been committed to the healthy development of the reuse market since the 1990s, with the concept of "Reuse, not Recycle.

We have changed the negative image of reuse, which used to be "dirty," 180 degrees, and have continued to communicate that reuse is clean and valuable. these efforts over the years have created a brand value of "Hard Off is safe and secure" and "Hard Off is reliable," which is and will remain our major customer value.

We will continue to work to deliver a sense of security to all our customers, while keeping the value of "clean and sound reuse" in mind.

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Hard Off Corporation

Store Operations Headquarters
Section Chief Risa Ito

Joined Hard Off Corporation in 2010
After working as a store manager, area general manager, and supervisor at directly managed stores,
Link Channel (hard-office version of omni-channel and digital warfare) at headquarters since 2005.
(Abbreviated) Engaged as the person in charge of the business.
Currently, official website, EC site (Off-Mall), and apps (official apps and offer purchase a
(Pre), online purchase (Hard-Off home delivery purchase), and other planning, operation, and management.
She took three maternity leaves of absence in 2004, 2007, and 2011.

 

《Uni-Web Implementation Site》

Hardoff Introduced on the official website.

By clicking on the icon, an accessibility menu appears, allowing users to switch text-to-speech features and screen contrast with just one button.

• Official site:https://www.zojirushi-direct.com/

 

In addition, an AI-based multilingual translation function has been implemented to allow users to more smoothly view content in their respective languages.

Click on "Settings" at the bottom of the menu and select the language icon at the top to have the information on the site automatically translated based on your preferred language.

 

The following 8 languages are available for translation.

• English
• Chinese (Simplified/Traditional)
• Korean
• Vietnamese (language)
• Portuguese
• Thai (language)
• Indonesian

 

About ◾️ Hard Off Corporation, Inc.

Bringing earth-friendly "reuse" closer to home.
Hard Off Corporation operates reuse shops throughout Japan and overseas that buy and sell unwanted items, developing original store brands such as "Hard Off" and "Off House" for each product it handles, with the goal of surpassing 1,000 group stores, including directly managed and franchise stores, in 2024 and 1,300 stores by 2030.

Location: 3-1-13 Shinsakae-cho, Shibata City, Niigata Prefecture
Representative: Taro Yamamoto, President and Representative Director
Business activities: Reuse business
URL:https://www.hardoff.co.jp/

 

About Uniweb

UniWeb provides web accessibility features "on the day of deployment" by simply adding a single line of code to all web services.

In order to achieve equal website services for all, we want to put users in various situations, such as those with visual impairments or those who temporarily lose the use of their hands due to injury, in a position to understand correct information through various uses such as voice reading and contrast changes.

• Site:https://hellouniweb.com