Takahito Katsuta: Driving Business Through Connections and Enthusiasm, Without a Prestigious Brand

At age 40, I resigned from Mitsubishi Corporation, where I had worked since graduation. Declaring the expansion of consumer and media businesses in Asia as my life's work, I established a business entity with a local partner in Thailand.

However, at the beginning, we had no core business or medium-term business plan. Starting from zero, the first few years were a cycle of searching for, implementing, and reviewing business ideas.

Without the prestigious brand of "Mitsubishi Corporation," I realized deeply that personal relationships of trust are one's greatest asset. Over the past five or six years, two businesses have finally taken shape.

The first is a sweets business called "Yufuin Milch." My Thai partner commented, "Yufuin is well-known among the wealthy in Asia as a stylish hot spring resort. The sweets from Milch in Yufuin are delicious and a hot topic on social media."

A person I had a connection with through another job happened to know the president of that manufacturer and arranged an initial meeting for me in Yufuin. However, the response was cold: "We haven't even expanded to Tokyo yet; expanding to Thailand is premature." Undeterred, I visited again with samples of ingredients that could be procured in Thailand. The president said, "No one else has come to a business meeting this prepared. This must be fate, so let's consider it." Currently, we are successfully operating four stores in Thailand, including one at Bangkok International Airport.

The second is a talent content business called "BNK48." Regarding content such as music and drama, Japan's presence in Thailand was virtually non-existent. In that environment, I heard from an acquaintance at the AKB48 management company that they were looking for a business partner in Thailand. I raised my hand on the spot, but we weren't approved immediately. We presented our enthusiasm and our network in Thailand, and were compared against other candidate companies. Despite major Thai entertainment companies also applying, I believe we—who had no track record in this type of business—were chosen because they valued our "enthusiasm."

This business also faced numerous trials from the start. However, in less than a year since the debut of the first-generation members, a single reached over 80 million views on YouTube, the group was appointed as the cheering squad for the Thailand national football team, and we secured annual contracts with about ten major sponsors. It has become a great success.

While deeply feeling the importance of connections and enthusiasm every day, I intend to continue promoting business development in Asia.

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.