Not the First Time

Everybody and anybody these days seems to want to claim that they’re producing the “first ever” of anything with and for the Japanese. Witness the piece from your Aug. 24 issue, “Executive Will Talk to Japanese Marketers.” Tain’t so.

As far back as 1974, I did this speech for a major Japanese housing conference in Tokyo. It was not long after that that I did an interview with Terry Green of your staff about some of the fascinating and effective marketing methods the Japanese were using. Those same ideas were expressed at the National Assn. of Home Builders last January as “gee whiz” new ideas.

The fact is that even in 1974, I was not the really, really first one. I think that Barry Berkus may have preceded me with some good ideas by several months. You want to riffle through your files on some stories I have sent to you over the past year dealing with lots of this stuff developed by me over the past 17 years of dealing with the Japanese since I put them and the NAHB together in 1969.

JOSEPH J. HONICK

Encino