Shipment work

 

Shimizu：I asked local sales representatives to say this when they make sales to customers, such as a restaurant, "Though the price is a little high, its value is much more than that." An excellent way to convey the value to the other party is to tell the story behind the product. The processing method, flavor, and taste are the last key factors in the company's history. When you export, you ship frozen products. An ordinary frozen product loses its flavor when defrosted on site. But our products have the superior strength of keeping the flavor after defrosting thanks to our unique three-step processing method, which can condense the flavor. This also was one of the things I noticed when I tasted the local octopus circulated there. So, I make it a rule to invite the local chefs to taste our product. Then many were surprised, some even saying, "Has this been frozen once and then defrosted?"

Tsunokake：I understand that flavor is the key factor. Do you have any other scheme as a strategy to differentiate your products?

Shimizu：We have a rule of having a single dealer per country, and the dealer must be exclusive and cannot handle the products from other companies in Japan. In my thinking, a brand is something hard to be understood. In the overseas market, It doesn't matter how famous the product is inside Japan, for people with different cultures and historical backgrounds care less about that. In my opinion, a brand is understood and accepted over a trusting relationship. That's why I always begin by making the sales activities with the local dealers to build trust in each other. Once they learn what kind of person I am and the strong points of the products, the confidence in human relationships and products are built, and they start effectively advertising the products by themselves. The local restaurant owners' impression also becomes more favorable from being visited by the supplier and the local dealer to clarify the delivery and quality assurance.

Tsunokake：So you mean the relationship between both parties is most important.

Shimizu：That's right. On the occasions of exhibiting at trade fairs, we took along our restaurant (Enyadotto-Maru) chef and dispatched them to the local restaurants using our products. There they instructed the method of preparing Japanese food. The local restaurants appreciate that very much.

Tsunokake：You created the synergy from having your restaurant.

 

Future Policy

Tsunokake：Overseas dealings inevitably require handling unexpected changes in international affairs, for example, the soaring prices of raw materials. Please tell us about your future perspective.

 

Shimizu：We always see the potential in domestic growth. There still is enormous potential in domestic deals by keeping improving the quality. In this context, we have two reasons for continuing our export business.
The first reason is that we want to utilize the export experience on the import deals. We are thinking of directly importing the octopus material by ourselves in the future, but we also see a high risk because you have to import a massive amount of a lot. That's why we try to learn international trade details by engaging in relatively low-risk exports.
The second reason is the pride of our company and our employees. I was shocked that one of our employees couldn't announce his profession at his wedding party. I thought that was no good. I am taking our employees one by one to the overseas trade fairs or the business meetings with the overseas buyers so that this employee feels from the heart how the world is evaluating our work. I also take them to the overseas luxury Japanese restaurant to see our product served in front of their own eyes or to listen to the chef there to learn what the customers at the restaurant are thinking about our products. I hope to motivate them in their work by feeling the customer's evaluation. I believe individual motivation results in creating the entire company's vitality.

Tsunokake：Could you advise the corporates who would join the export business in the future?

Shimizu：I would tell you that if you are determined to go into the export business, never give up on your way until you succeed. Please don't search for the reasons why you can't do it. If you get no good result from your first exhibit at a trade fair, don't finish there but keep trying for three to five years. I want them to hang in there for that period.

Tsunokake：Thank you very much for your precious advice. As a conclusion to our conversation, do you have any requests for our agency?

Shimizu：I'd like to request the expansion of the opportunities for the trade fair exhibitions, which we have highly appreciated. I think it might work not only in large countries but also in a country such as Cambodia, where no one has yet ventured into. I hope your agency will target these countries as I believe they will become important in the future. If you decided to place an exhibit at a trade fair in Cambodia, our company would be the first to join.

Tsunokake： I understand your passion. If that is realized, I'll ensure that you will be the first to be contacted.

Shimizu Shouten Ltd. ●Inauguration　　October 1961 ●Capital　　　　3 million yen ●CEO　　　　　Eiki Shimizu　 ●Employees　　65 people ●Year quotient of 3.1 billion yen ●Location　　　6881-72 Isohamacho, Oarai, Higashi Ibaraki District, Ibaraki 311-1301 Japan ●Business contents Fishery processing ●Export ratio　　12% of total sales (approximately 380 million yen) 　Shimizu Shouten Website

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interviewer Ibaraki Small Business Global Promotion Agency, Incorporated Foundation Overseas Extension Promotion Agent ●Name 　Yasuhiro Tsunokake ●Major Field　Food (Livestock, Organic) ●Career Many years in marketing and trading businesses in a major general trading company. We have US residency experiences and a local corporate inauguration in China.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tsunokake：The most impressive part of this conversation was the words from CEO Shimizu that he recognized the strength of his company for the first time when he visited a foreign country. In an overseas exhibition, the customers to your booth are naturally all foreigners. You often might be confused by the different eating habits and customs in that country, unlike in the business negotiation with Japanese people. But this is also the chance to find your company's strengths (your most potent sales point) and weaknesses (things you have to work on) by listening to people of different backgrounds.
It should be a big adventure to challenge in an overseas exhibition. Still, you have already seen that Shimizu Shouten has reduced the burden on their company, such as the exhibition application procedure, the cost, or the language barriers, by actively utilizing the overseas extension projects offered by Ibaraki prefecture. It would be much easier to challenge overseas if you take the provided strategies to lower the hurdle over the personnel and financial resources.