Y Yacht is bringing joy to their customers with quality products we use everyday.
Over the next 15 years, Japan is anticipating a significant demographic shift that will be characterized by an aging and declining population. Consequently, the country will face a labor shortage in addition to a shrinking domestic market. To be more specific, the country is expected to face a labor shortage of 11 million people by the year 2040. What challenges do these demographic shifts create for your company, and how are you navigating them? Additionally, what opportunities might this create for your company?
First and foremost, we started off as a distributor and the Y.Yacht is not widely recognised as a consumer brand. I’ve been the president for four years now and my first project was to spread awareness of our brand. We are often mistaken for a yacht company due to the name, so we have to showcase ourselves in order for people to understand that we are a kitchenware company.
Elevating awareness of the Y. Yacht brand is essential not only for acquiring new customers but also in order to find collaborative partners and new employees. Being known is vital. We have started a rebranding project with a new logo incorporating a yacht so that people can immediately associate our brand with kitchens. As part of this strategy, we have positioned ourselves at the high-end of kitchenware.
The new Y Yacht logo
Kitchenware prices can vary from very reasonable to high-end, so we feel it is important to position ourselves as high-end. It is vital for staff, customers, and counterparts to recognize this position. People can buy cookware even in dollar stores, wWe are, however, seeing high-end product consumption, so we do feel it is important to position ourselves correctly to match our goals, which all relate to high-end kitchenware, dining ware, and tableware.
COVID-19 changed the lifestyles of ordinary people, and with the stay-at-home measures, people spent more time cooking food at home. Although the situation has now returned to normal, people are still practicing cooking at home. We want to fully leverage this business opportunity.
Companies and consumers alike are now looking to reduce environmental burdens through sustainable products and practices. Your company is following suit with a number of initiatives including your My Bottle campaign. Can you tell us more about your environmental sustainability initiatives and how you are contributing to a cleaner environment?
Directly under myself is the Corporate Planning Office which creates and formulates new strategies, particularly for sustainability. This issue of sustainability is ongoing and impacts the entire planet. I have children and I’ve made it a point to teach them how to protect Mother Earth in the future.
Speaking of the company, our employees all have different levels of interest in sustainability. Having a common high-level understanding is very important. We aren’t a listed company, so we don’t have external shareholders, but we still feel it is important to become a responsible company. Sharing knowledge on sustainability is the foundation of this responsibility, and from this, new ideas can emerge. We can provide opportunities to actualize and realize sustainability.
Your business model is divided into five main pillars: wholesale, product development, gifts, retail, and logistics. How do these five areas of your business synergize and complement each other? How do they help you have a well-rounded and more complete business?
I’m the third generation leader of the company and our business started off as a wholesaler to department stores. As time has flown by, so have social demands changed, and as a result we have had to diversify our business operations. One example is the change from gifting goods to gifting a catalog so that the recipient can choose which gift they want to have.
Since we are operating both a gift and wholesale business, we felt it was prudent to have an in-house logistics system. This finally led to the retail aspect of our business. Essentially all of our businesses have followed a chain, evolving over the years.
Which area of your business would you like to further develop?
Domestically speaking there might not be a massive increase in terms of market openings but overseas, we see this in our scope. We are still in the early stages of the overseas operation. A focus is on the retail side, particularly direct sales to our customers. In order to do so, having unique retail and online stores is important, and we should fill those stores with original and current products.
You mentioned that you are looking to strengthen your retail business. When customers look to purchase high-end products, they want to have an experience at the store. What kind of experience can a first-time visitor expect when coming to your store?
At our stores, we have recreated real kitchens where customers can come and try all the different features and products in a real setting. Depending on the season, we have different waves of products placed, and this is also based on our formulated sales plan, which we have developed in advance of each season. We conduct different collaborations and tie-ups with manufacturers, and in order to deepen those relationships, we do showcase their products in our kitchen showrooms.
Y.Yacht utilizes an extensive network of retailers nationwide to propose and provide products. This system enables you to source kitchen and dining products in Japan and abroad. How is your company able to ensure rapid product proposals and development?
For the past thirty years we have been visiting major world exhibitions and having meetings with manufactures and sellers in order to develop exclusive partnerships. It allows us to always be immersed in the latest information from the industry.
Another service you provide is as an agency for overseas brands, jointly developing products with your domestic and overseas network. How does your experience as a trading company benefit your product development capabilities?
The biggest strength we have as an agent is that we know the market and the preferences of Japanese people. We understand the preferences in the Japanese kitchen from size to color to function. Advising consumer insights to our partners is something we can do.
Japanese consumers are very detail-oriented, and one example I can think of is with frying pans, where Japanese consumers insist that they come with a lid to stop to prevent oil splatters. In most countries, people don’t care as much about it.
Trading companies do develop their own products and your company is no exception. Why did you decide to launch your own product line? Are there any new products that you would like to showcase today?
The main reason behind this decision relates to the fact that we have our own retail stores. We wanted to add uniqueness and give color to our stores, and we felt that by having our own branded products would give our stores some charm. Since we are a fabless company, we develop these products with our suppliers by listening to feedback from customers. This original brand is key to gaining the trust of our customers.
Out of all of your original brands, which is your favorite?
Let me introduce a pot called Yukihira. Yukihira has been a staple of Japanese cooking, from miso soup to simmered and stir-fried dishes. While products with traditional designs of the past are mainstream, we have enhanced functionality and taken into consideration the size and ease of use to accommodate the new lifestyles of modern people.
The simple yet elegant combination of silver and wood is designed to match both Japanese and Western kitchens.
Through your digital media division, you opened your own online shop in 2021, where you share seasonal recipes and assist customers with choosing brands. How does this offering help you build a loyal customer base and ensure that those customers continue to come back for more?
The focus of our e-commerce is geared towards those that already like cooking. We provide opportunities for those kinds of customers to further deepen their relationship with cooking. Our company is looking to provide high-quality, high-end products to middle-level and experienced individuals who love cooking.
When people first start cooking most of them start with an aluminum pan, but once they get good they will transition to a stainless steel pan or even a cast iron pan. These new pieces of equipment allow for more variations of flavor and enhance the experience.
What role do partnerships play in your business model, and are you currently looking for any new partnerships, particularly overseas?
Domestically we follow more of a joint development approach together with manufacturers. Overseas, we approach things by looking for products that would be successful in Japan. Ideally we are looking for exclusivity. The reason why we seek exclusivity is because of the amount of distributors in Japan, resulting in varying prices and inconsistent brand message. That is not good for customers in the long-run.
Are you interested in further internationalizing your sales operations? If so, where do you see the most potential?
Our final goal is to export our original products as well as other amazing Japanese products through distinguished, high-quality sales channels.
How would you like your company to be seen by global consumers?
Our company has over 75 years of history at this point and our mission has always been to provide the Japanese market with excellent kitchenware. We have always wanted to make a wide range of international products available to consumers in Japan. That trading aspect is the core of our business operations. Since the world is becoming more internationalized, we too are shifting our mindset to cover exports as well. Y.YACHT has cultivated excellent relationships with manufacturers who produce both traditional and modern cookware based on their craftsmanship from all over Japan. We are looking to provide these goods to the global market.
For more information, visit their website at: https://www.y-yacht.co.jp/en/
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