Tomoyasu Marutani: "Evolution through Deepening" — A Recommendation for Community-Based Business

2019/10/08

September marks exactly one year since the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake, which caused a blackout across the entire Hokkaido region.

As the convenience store chain with the largest number of stores in the prefecture, Seicomart kept 1,050 stores—95% of our total—operational immediately after the disaster. We received praise and gratitude from across the country for what was described as a "god-tier response."

Our employees voluntarily opened the stores and worked hard for the community and our customers. I am very proud of our employees for their sense of mission to contribute to the region—what I call "community loyalty."

Currently, the domestic retail industry is clearly over-stored. Within the shrinking domestic market, many are seeking growth through globalization.

In this environment, we are building a solid foundation in our home of Hokkaido and further digging into the local market, aiming to achieve "evolution through deepening."

One of our strategies is the supply chain. By adopting a corporate structure that integrates everything from production and manufacturing to logistics and retail, we minimize middleman margins and increase manufacturing and logistics efficiency. This creates a lean corporate structure while providing local customers with high quality at reasonable prices.

If there is a request from the community, we cooperate with local governments to open stores even in depopulated areas with as few as 900 people. Opening stores in such areas is only possible because we have our own logistics network covering the vast expanse of Hokkaido.

Furthermore, Hokkaido is rich in excellent food ingredients. By collaborating with the region and utilizing our supply chain network, we turn characteristic local products into finished goods at our own factories. We sell these not only in our own stores but also to other chains. By combining these corporate initiatives with the close ties between store employees and the community, a deep relationship (deepening) is built. This "deepening" leads, albeit slowly, to our sustainable growth (evolution).

From the perspective of the Tokyo metropolitan area, Hokkaido is a region where depopulation and aging are progressing more rapidly. However, it is also a vast "production space" that produces 1.3 trillion yen worth of agricultural products and supports the diet of the Japanese people. The Secoma Group utilizes Hokkaido's excellent ingredients to supply many products to Honshu and overseas. This supports this vital "production space," which is inevitably becoming sparse, and expands new opportunities.

To coexist with the region—that is my "recommendation for community-based business."