Name: Aneta Pokucinska
Title: Regional Manager H&M North East Asia (Japan & South Korea)
URL: https://www2.hm.com/ja_jp/index.html
Hometown: Katowice, Poland
Years in Japan: One year (since March 2022)
You’ve been with H&M for your entire career. How did you start out?
The reason I actually applied for a (part-time) job in Poland was because I was interested in fashion. I was still studying at the time. I was fascinated from day one by the work culture, and fell in love with it. We use first names, not titles, regardless of roles or age. This allows us to grow and contribute to the business, bringing all our potential to the table.
How would you characterize the Japanese market?
Even though people are very much influenced by norms and by the beliefs that go with this society, I think it’s amazing to also see how diverse, competitive and endless this market is, and how many inspirations and experiences you can have. I'm proud to be serving as a global retailer. It’s challenging and demanding, and I think there's still a lot of potential for us here.
As a global retailer, what role can you play in promoting sustainability?
I have a huge respect for the area of sustainability. In speaking with a lot of individuals, some people are actually having difficulty in navigating how they can make a difference. So I think it's a sense of, how do we inspire our customers so they can also engage with us, because when they do, we can make an even bigger impact. We can make a difference together.
For the full article, please visit: https://sustainable.japantimes.com/lr