{"id":335,"date":"2019-08-08T18:36:31","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T09:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spicefactory.xsrv.jp\/client\/etoile\/?page_id=335"},"modified":"2020-12-14T12:45:39","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T03:45:39","slug":"trajectory","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/etoile.co.jp\/en\/vision\/trajectory\/","title":{"rendered":"Etoile Kaito&#8217;s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"about\" class=\"mt-0 pt-0\">\r\n<div class=\"wrapper image-wrapper bg-image inverse-text\" style=\"background-image: url('\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Z7T3995.jpg');\" data-image-src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Z7T3995.jpg\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner\">\r\n<div class=\"row\">\r\n<div class=\"col-md-10 offset-md-1 text-center\">\r\n<div class=\"space40\"><\/div>\r\n<p class=\"sub-heading2\">Continue to Create New Ways of Business<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h1 class=\"heading\">Etoile Kaito<\/h1>\r\nSenken Shimbun: \u201cTrace of History\u201d posted on May 14, 21, and 28, 2018\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.row -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.wrapper -->\r\n\r\n<\/section><!-- \/#section -->\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wrapper bg-light-etoile pt-0 mt-0\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner\">\r\n<div class=\"row\">\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-10 offset-lg-1\">\r\n<p class=\"text-center\">\u201cTrace of History\u201d\uff08<a href=\"https:\/\/senken.co.jp\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/senken.co.jp\/<\/a> \uff09<br class=\"br-sp\" \/>posted on May 14, 21, and 28, 2018<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"section-title text-center\">[ I ] 116 years of going through a multitude of difficulties<\/h2>\r\nEtoile Kaito is a general wholesale trading company that was established 116 years ago.\r\nThe company handles about 700,000 SKU (stock-keeping units) ranging from fashionable garments to sundries and foods. Currently,it supplies products procured from about 3,500 companies to about 20,000 retailers.The company has adhered to its founding philosophy of \u201coffering good quality products at the cheapest prices possible and making needed products available at a necessary timing in the required volume.\u201d Over the years, it kept creating new business formats that fit a specific time,including cash-and-carry wholesaling, self-service selling, and a membership registration system. Most recently, it has introduced its wholesale e-commerce (EC) website called \u201cETONET\u201d, and established a purchasing platform named \u201ciccokara.\u201d\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/section><!-- \/.wrapper -->\r\n<div class=\"wrapper bg-gray-etoile\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner\">\r\n<div class=\"row d-flex align-items-center\">\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 pr-35 pr-sm-15\">\r\n<figure class=\"rounded\"><img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/kiseki1.png\" alt=\"\" \/>\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600;\">In 1924 , Kaito Shoten moved to Yonezawa-cho, Nihonbashi.<\/p>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n<div class=\"space30 d-block d-lg-none d-xl-none\"><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6\"><!--\r\n\r\n\u7e4a\u7814\u65b0\u805e\uff08<a href=\"https:\/\/senken.co.jp\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/senken.co.jp\/<\/a> \uff09<br class=\"br-sp\">2018\u5e745\u670821\u65e5\u4ed8\u63b2\u8f09\r\n\r\n-->\r\n<h2 class=\"section-title\">Overcoming Earthquake and the Wars<\/h2>\r\nIn 1902, the founder, Yoshigusu Kaito, opened a haberdashery wholesale store, Kaito Shoten, which mainly handled\r\nbeads and jewelry in Shin Morita-cho, Asakusa-ku, Tokyo (current Yanagibashi, Taito-ku, Tokyo). The founder purchased\r\ncoral beads and gem-like beads that were used for ornamental hair sticks called \u201cKanzashi\u201d from craftsmen in downtown\r\nand sold the beads nationwide. The business grew steadily, and the store moved to Yonezawa-cho, Nihonbashi-ku (current\r\nChuo-ku) 4 years after opening the business. In 1919, the succession of the business was made by Yoshigusu to his\r\neldest son, Yoshikazu. The second-generation president of 25 years old inherited the store and, at the same time, added\r\nsundries to the product line-up. He paid attention to the potential of\r\ngrowing market for celluloid products including soap dishes, bath pails\r\nand combs. Yoshikazu expanded the sundries business recognizing that\r\n\u201csundries are consumable commodities, which enable to sell in volume\r\nat high turn-over rates although the margins are small.\u201d While many\r\nwholesalers in Japan went out of business in the global recession after\r\nthe World War I, Kaito Shoten grew its business as it traded in a wide\r\nrange of recession-proof sundries.\r\n\r\n\r\nIn September 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake hit Tokyo leaving\r\nit a burnt field. Kaito Shoten also burnt down. In the devastation,\r\nYoshikazu knew \u201ca large demand should be created for recovery\u201d, and\r\nin the next month, set up a temporary store of 5.5 meters wide and 9\r\nmeters long. For purchasing, he made his own way to Osaka. Suppliers\r\nwere very favorable towards Yoshikazu, saying, \u201cFor Kaito Shoten, you\r\ncan pay any day you can.\u201d Yoshikazu, at that time, felt in his bones that\r\n\u201ctrust is the key asset for business.\u201d The purchased products, mainly\r\nclothes, sold for cash like hot cakes. Rebuilding of the business after the earthquake went smoothly.\r\n\r\n\r\nIn the early 40\u2019s when the Pacific War progressed, the Act to Control Production and Sales of Luxury Goods was\r\nintroduced and the government took control of the availability and prices of goods. The businesses located in the\r\nwholesale district in Nihonbashi were forced to change or close their business one after another. However, Kaito Shoten\r\ncreated a store area where unregulated goods such as knicknacks, bags and stationaries were sold for cash. It even went\r\nout to buy surrounding buildings to expand the business.\r\n\r\n\r\nCash sales generate smaller margins but faster turnover of goods. Yoshikazu determined that \u201cthe best business model\r\nis to have a smaller-scale sundries store which purchases enough goods to be sold on the day and more when the goods\r\nare sold, and to have a stable cash business with spot purchasing.\u201d Yoshikazu positioned the cash-and-carry wholesale\r\nbusiness as the core business from those days on.\r\n\r\n\r\nAs the war escalated, Kaito Shoten closed for business temporarily in 1944. However, a month after the end of the war in\r\n1945, it reopened the business. For the store stocking, Yoshikazu purchased cosmetics brushes and combs from Kyoto,\r\nwhich had escaped much of the destruction caused by the war. In the era of an extreme shortage of goods right after the\r\nwar and of accelerating inflation, Kaito Shoten kept offering goods at reasonable \u201cprice-tag\u201d prices. The reputation of the\r\nbusiness practice spread around Japan, which bought waves of customers coming from nationwide. \u201cThe man emerging\r\nfrom the rubble earlier wins others. Trust is the key.\u201d The experience during the Great Kanto Earthquake came in play\r\ninto rebuilding the business after the war.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.row -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.wrapper -->\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wrapper bg-light-etoile pt-0 mt-0\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner\">\r\n<div class=\"row\">\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-12\">\r\n<h2 class=\"section-title section-title-upper larger\">Pioneer Who Initiated New Systems<\/h2>\r\nIn 1948, Kaito Shoten was reorganized into Kaito Inc. At the same time, Yoshikazu handed over the presidency to his 26\r\nyears old eldest son, Ichiro Kaito, as a pioneer of cash-and-carry wholesaling, introduced new systems one after another.\r\n\r\nIn the 1950\u2019s when Japan entered the era of rapid economic growth, the biggest management challenge was to ease the\r\ncongestion of customers coming to purchase goods. In 1952, Kaito purchased a 5-story building in Nihonbashi Yokoyama-\r\ncho to create new store space. The number of new customers kept growing, which made it difficult for about 300\r\nemployees to offer one-on-one service. The president, Ichiro, adopted \u201cself-service\u201d sales model on the wholesale floor,\r\nwhich was not well known in Japan at that time. Customers picked up a shopping basket piled up at the floor entrance\r\nand freely chose goods under this system.\r\n\r\nWhile no one even used the word, \u201cself-service\u201d, customers at first complained, \u201cWhat a lazy way of doing business to ask\r\ncustomers to pick up products.\u201d Ichiro, however, explained, \u201cWe are selling good quality products at \u201cprice-tag\u201d prices\r\nwith the lowest margin, displaying the goods in a way customers can freely select products, and purchase smoothly in the\r\nshortest time.\u201d This system turned into popular, which prompted other wholesalers to adopt the style.\r\nWhile the business expanded, Ichiro passed away with heart disease in 1959. It was a huge blow to the company\u2019s\r\nbusiness. Yoshikazu returned to the position of president.\r\n\r\nAround 1960, the number of customers increased to about 10,000. As a result, general consumers often mingled with\r\nretailers to buy products at wholesale prices, which generated frequent complaints from retailer customers.\r\n\r\nAs a solution, Yoshikazu introduced \u201cPriority System for Registered Members,\u201d under which, the identification of\r\ncustomers entering the store were first checked. This system, to which retail buyers were registered, was the first of its\r\nkind in the industry. For registration, employee assessors were sent to retailers who wished to do business with Kaito to\r\nsee if the stores were indeed opened for business at the declared locations. Only those who passed the assessment were\r\nissued with registered preferred member certificates. After taking great cost and many hands, the initial Registration\r\nstore was increasing big, to about 35,000 stores.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/section><!-- \/.wrapper -->\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wrapper bg-gray-etoile pt-0 mt-0\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner\">\r\n<div class=\"row\">\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-12\">\r\n<h2 class=\"section-title section-title-upper larger\">History of Etoile Kaito<\/h2>\r\n<table class=\"table\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th style=\"width: 14%;\" scope=\"row\">1902<\/th>\r\n<td>Yoshigusu Kaito (first president) opened Kaito Shoten, a jewelry and accessary manufacturer and wholesaler, in Shin Morita-cho, Asakusa, (current Yanagibashi, Taito-ku) Tokyo.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1906<\/th>\r\n<td>Kaito Shoten moved to Yonezawa-cho, Nihonbashi (current Higashi Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku) for store expansion.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1923<\/th>\r\n<td>Headquarters burnt down by the Great Kanto Earthquake, but the business reopened after one month.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1941<\/th>\r\n<td>Cash-and-carry wholesale store opened in Yokoyama-cho, Nihonbashi.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1945<\/th>\r\n<td>Business reopened one month after the end of WWII.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1948<\/th>\r\n<td>Established Cash Wholesale Store in Nihonbashi Yokoyama-cho<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1948<\/th>\r\n<td>Business was reorganized and renamed as Kaito, Inc.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1952<\/th>\r\n<td>Self-service style selling started.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1960<\/th>\r\n<td>Retailer member registration system was introduced.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1961<\/th>\r\n<td>Main building (current Fashion Kan) opened, becoming the largest wholesale store in Bakuro wholesale district.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1962<\/th>\r\n<td>Nihonbashi Clinic, a community general medical facility, opened.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1974<\/th>\r\n<td>POS system with price-tag reading function was introduced, being the first wholesaler.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1977<\/th>\r\n<td>An in-house childcare center, Etoile Childcare Center, opened. (~2014)<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1979<\/th>\r\n<td>The company changed the name to Etoile Kaito &amp; Co., Inc.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">1982<\/th>\r\n<td>Store Development Center opened, strengthening retailer store support activities.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">2006<\/th>\r\n<td>Wholesale EC website was launched.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">2011<\/th>\r\n<td>Kinnosuke Hayakawa became the 7th president.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">2012<\/th>\r\n<td>The wholesale EC website was renewed named \u201cETONET\u201d was launched.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">2015<\/th>\r\n<td>\u201cMONOTIAM\u201d opened to sell products of domestic and overseas creators.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th scope=\"row\">2016<\/th>\r\n<td>Purchasing platform, \u201ciccokara\u201d, was launched.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/section><!-- \/.wrapper -->\r\n<div class=\"wrapper bg-light-etoile\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner\">\r\n<div class=\"row d-flex align-items-center\">\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 pr-35 pr-sm-15\">\r\n<figure class=\"rounded\"><img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/trajectory2.png\" alt=\"\" \/>\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600;\">The main building of Kaito&#8217;s wholesale store opened in 1961 as the largest wholesale operation in Bakuro- cho&#8217;s wholesale district.<\/p>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n<div class=\"space30 d-block d-lg-none d-xl-none\"><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6\"><!--\r\n\r\n\u7e4a\u7814\u65b0\u805e\uff08<a href=\"https:\/\/senken.co.jp\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/senken.co.jp\/<\/a> \uff09<br class=\"br-sp\">2018\u5e745\u670821\u65e5\u4ed8\u63b2\u8f09\r\n\r\n-->\r\n<h2 class=\"section-title\">[ II ] Creating Healthy Workplace for Female Employees<\/h2>\r\nIn November 1961, Etoile Kaito\u2019s main building was completed. The\r\nbuilding had two stories underground and nine stories above ground,\r\nwhich was the largest wholesale store in the wholesale district of Bakuro-\r\ncho. In those days, all three stores scattered around Nihonbashi were\r\nclosed and consolidated into the main building, thereby establishing a\r\ngeneral wholesale store that enabled \u201cone-stop shopping.\u201d The building\r\nwas equipped elevators and escalators, and \u201cNational Cash Register\u201d\r\nsystem was installed instead of the old abacus. The building with the\r\nstate-of-art equipment attracted many customers lined up in a long queue.\r\nThe sales floors were packed to capacity with customers for months\r\nafter the opening. The daily sales in December of that year exceeded\r\na milestone of 10 million yen. Japan at that time was in the longest\r\neconomic expansion in its history and at the height of a rapid economic\r\ngrowth.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe management of the company included Yoshikazu Kaito as president, his third son, Goro (later to become the 5th\r\npresident) as Director in charge of HR, employee training and IT systems. Goro graduated from Tokyo Jikei University\r\nSchool of Medicine, worked at the University\u2019s medical office, acquired a Medical Doctor\u2019s degree, and joined Kaito. The\r\neldest daughter Fumiko (later to become the 6th president) was Managing Director in charge of sales.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.row -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.wrapper -->\r\n<div class=\"wrapper bg-gray-etoile\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner\">\r\n<div class=\"row d-flex align-items-center\">\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 sp\">\r\n<figure class=\"rounded\"><img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/trajectory3.png\" alt=\"\" \/>\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600;\">In 1970, female dorms were built.<\/p>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 pr-35 pr-sm-15\">\r\n<h2 class=\"section-title section-title-upper larger\">Leading the Times<\/h2>\r\nWhile bringing modernization to management, Kaito actively\r\nhired female high-school graduates. Back in those days, most of\r\nsales staff hired by wholesalers was middle-school graduates.\r\nYoshikazu thought, however, that \u201cMechanization is an absolute\r\nmust even in the commerce sector,\u201d and that \u201cThe education\r\nlevel of employees must be raised, which will also help\r\nrationalize clerical work.\u201d Around the time of the opening of\r\nthe main building, Kaito had many dorms for female employees\r\nbuilt. In 1963, it renovated the 3rd building, which had been kept empty, to open a cultural center, \u201cEtoile Gakuen\u201d. The\r\ncurriculum was organized for everyday from 6pm to 9pm on Monday to Sunday to offer about a dozen courses including\r\nflower arrangement (Ikenobo school, Sougetsuryu school), tea ceremony (Omotesenke school), calligraphy, design\r\ndrawing, English conversation and cooking, aiming to develop an educated workforce.\r\n\r\nIn the late 1960\u2019s, such human resources development led to the promotion of female employees representing 50% out\r\nof 20 managers and 70% out of 40 section managers. In 1970, Kaito completed the construction of a 10-story integrated\r\ndormitory for female employees called \u201cEtoile Kaikan\u201d of a total area of 9,500 square meters. The dorm is equipped\r\nheating and cooling system and cost 1 billion yen for construction alone. Such investments in employees benefit resulted\r\nin attracting talented human resources from throughout Japan.\r\n\r\nIn 1974, Kaito introduced a POS (Point of Sales) system, which had not been seen very often even in other industries.\r\nKaito handled about 400,000 SKU focusing on clothing, some sundries, home and lifestyle products, 80% of which were\r\nKaito\u2019s original products. As Kaito traded in products affected by rapidly changing fashion trends, the company Director,\r\nGoro Kaito, considered \u201cPOS was essential to maintain and strengthen functions as a manufacturer such as placing\r\norders with thousands of suppliers for producing new products and materials as well as instructing to cease production.\u201d\r\nKaito developed POS terminals together with Oki Electric Company, Ltd. and Fujitsu Ltd., which adopted a method of\r\ncombining bar codes and magnetic codes. They built a POS system enabling product unit information management of 1\r\nmillion SKU after a half day or one day of receiving them.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n<div class=\"space30 d-block d-lg-none d-xl-none\"><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 pc\">\r\n<figure class=\"rounded\"><img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/trajectory3.png\" alt=\"\" \/>\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600;\">In 1970, female dorms were built.<\/p>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.row -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.wrapper -->\r\n<div class=\"wrapper bg-light-etoile\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner\">\r\n<div class=\"row d-flex align-items-center\">\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 pr-35 pr-sm-15\">\r\n<figure class=\"rounded\"><img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/hoikuen.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/>\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600;\">Etoile Childcare Center, an in-house center, opened in 1977<\/p>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n<div class=\"space30 d-block d-lg-none d-xl-none\"><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6\">\r\n<h2 class=\"section-title section-title-upper larger\">Establishing a Clinic and a Day Care Center<\/h2>\r\nAs the number of female employees dramatically increased in\r\nearly 1960s, female employees represented 70% or 850 of the\r\ntotal of 1,200 employees. The urgent challenge was to establish\r\nworkplace health and safety systems. That is particularly to\r\ndevelop workplaces where \u201cFemale employees can work in good\r\nhealth.\u201d Goro Kaito led the initiative of opening a community\r\ngeneral medical facility called Nihonbashi Clinic. It installed\r\nan extensive collection of medical equipment equivalent to a\r\nuniversity hospital. The clinic is still in practice and appreciated\r\nas \u201cA clinic that taking good care of patients\u201d by not only the\r\nemployees but also residents and workers in Bakuro-cho and Yokoyama-cho areas.\r\n\r\nSensibility of female employees is essential to Kaito selling fashion products. Resignation of talented mid-career female\r\nemployees because of marriage and child rearing is a painful loss to the company. Increasing the retention of married\r\nfemale employees became another urgent challenge. In order to resolve this issue, an in-house childcare center called\r\nEtoile \u201cDay Care Center\u201d opened its door in 1977. The fact that female employees are able to \u201cwork with babies,\r\nestablish in-house (Nihonbashi) clinic as annex\u201d was much talked about beyond the industry at the time. The current\r\npresident, Kinnosuke Hayakawa, entered the Childcare Center in its opening year.\r\n\r\nIn 1985 when Goro Kaito took the position of the 5th president, and in the following years, the company is required\r\nto expand the sales floor to respond to the needs of diverse retailer customers. In 1986, Kaito opened in succession\r\nMarie Kan, a bridal showroom featuring bridal related dresses, furniture and gifts, Jewelry Kan, an accessories\/jewelry\r\nshowroom and in 1990, Belle Saison Kan for packing materials. The company realized the convenience of one-stop-\r\nshopping, making everything available within Bakuro-cho. In 2003, each showroom\u2019s sales floor was renewed. Aiming at\r\nmaking it more convenient to shop around, the four wholesale showrooms were reorganized into Fashion Kan, Living\r\nKan, Jewelry Kan, and Home Decoration Kan to align them with changes in the market.\r\n\r\nFumiko Kaito who had been involved in management since the Kaito Shoten days became president in 2003. Following\r\nher cherished words to live by, \u201cAlways produce buds after flowers,\u201d Fumiko paid attention to the development of human\r\nresources in all the departments as the company\u2019s business operations expanded.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.row -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.wrapper -->\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wrapper bg-gray-etoile pt-0 mt-0\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner\">\r\n<div class=\"row\">\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-10 offset-lg-1\"><!--\r\n\r\n\u7e4a\u7814\u65b0\u805e\uff08<a href=\"https:\/\/senken.co.jp\/\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/senken.co.jp\/<\/a> \uff09<br class=\"br-sp\">2018\u5e745\u670828\u65e5\u4ed8\u63b2\u8f09\r\n\r\n-->\r\n<h2 class=\"section-title text-center\">[ III ] Pursuing the Goal of Becoming General Wholesaler with Specialties<\/h2>\r\nIn June 2011, Kinnosuke Hayakawa succeeded the position from Fumiko Kaito to become the 7th president at the age of\r\n33. Since the 1990\u2019s, the domestic fashion market had been shrinking and their major customers, local specialty stores,\r\nhad been facing difficulties. A few months before Kinnosuke took over the president\u2019s position, the Great East Japan\r\nEarthquake occurred, which caused a sense of anxiety of the future everywhere in Japan. Kinnosuke Hayakawa had\r\nseen his grandmother president, Fumiko, always standing at the frontline floor since he joined the company in 2004. He\r\ndecided to become president as he was confident that Kaito had an absolute trust of many retailers nationwide who in\r\ntheir daily operations needed Kaito, and felt that he must ensure the company remain in business.\r\n\r\n\r\nHayakawa was attracted by \u201cThe characteristics of Kaito\u2019s business model.\u201d The company started a full-fledged cash-and-\r\ncarry wholesale business model after the Second World War, and had grown to become an \u201cIntegrated\u201d business starting\r\nin the 60\u2019s as symbolized by building the largest main building in the Bakuro-Yokoyama wholesale district. Even though\r\nit had been more than 50 years since then, Hayakawa thought that \u201cThere still are market demands for our products and\r\nwe are supported by buyers from all over Japan. It is because the past management has accumulated and built essential\r\nelements for our business.\u201d Kaito is challenging to construct further evolution to their wholesale business built on that\r\nbasis.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/section><!-- \/.wrapper -->\r\n<div class=\"wrapper bg-light-etoile\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner\">\r\n<div class=\"row\">\r\n<div class=\"col-md-6\">\r\n<figure class=\"rounded sp\"><img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/trajectory56.png\" alt=\"\" \/>\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600;\">\u300c\u30e2\u30ce\u58f2\u308b\u30e6\u30e1\u3001\u3055\u3055\u3048\u308b\u3002\u300d\u304c\u30b3\u30fc\u30dd\u30ec\u30fc\u30c8\u30b9\u30ed\u30fc\u30ac\u30f3<\/p>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<h2 class=\"section-title section-title-upper larger\">Improving Convenience with EC<\/h2>\r\nEtoile Kaito has strengthened multi-channels for their\r\nwholesale transactions by introducing e-commerce (EC) to\r\nimprove the buying convenience.\r\n\r\nKaito\u2019s EC website opened in 2006, taking the step into the\r\nonline wholesale world. In 2012, the company launched the\r\n\u201cETONET\u201d, its EC website that has enhanced functions and\r\nlists new product information updated on a daily basis. It\r\nalso introduced a system, which could confirm the inventory\r\nlevel by product number using a mobile device such as a cell phone in real time. The company built a wholesaler\r\nsystem enabling speedy transactions to \u201cShip products in\r\nthe afternoon when they are ordered in the morning\u201d and to \u201cShip them whenever and wherever.\u201d Recently, more sales\r\nhave been made through the \u201cETONET\u201d from overseas, most of which have been from Asian region including Taiwan,\r\nHong Kong, South Korea and China. Such demands from overseas are concentrated on fashion items such as bags, baby\r\nproducts made in Japan and practical kitchen products, expanding their markets year after year.\r\n\r\nIn 2016, a new EC wholesale initiative named \u201ciccokara\u201d was launched. Based on the product catalogues issued by\r\nsuppliers, Etoile Kaito receives orders for those products through its EC website from specialty shops nationwide.\r\nKaito gathers up the orders by manufacturer, places orders weekly, receive all the orders at its own logistics center\r\nin Kawasaki City, and sort them by retailers to ship them out. The benefit to the manufacturers is to delegate credit\r\nmanagement of the purchasing retail stores to Etoile Kaito.\r\n<div class=\"space20\"><\/div>\r\n<figure class=\"rounded pc\"><img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/trajectory56.png\" alt=\"\" \/>\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600;\">\u201cYour dream to sell goods, We support !\u201d is the corporate slogan.<\/p>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n<div class=\"col-md-6 pr-35 pr-sm-15\">\r\n<figure class=\"rounded mb-30\"><img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/trajectory6.png\" alt=\"\" \/>\r\n<p style=\"font-size: 12px; font-weight: 600;\">Deepen the trust from retailers through retail store support activities which have been ongoing since the 1980&#8217;s.<\/p>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<h2 class=\"section-title section-title-upper larger\">Strengthening Fashion Merchandizing<\/h2>\r\nEtoile Kaito has also been brushing up merchandizing (MD) capability exercising its expertise. In 2010, it launched\r\nE-Fashion Trend, which is a trade fair held in the event space of the Fashion building. It is an event to be held every\r\nseason to exhibit mixed-brand apparel and other fashion products, and take orders from the customers. Etoile Kaito\r\ndevelops product plans for 6 months ahead, regularly checks the order receiving status, and determines inventory risks\r\nby item number.\r\n\r\n\r\nThe company also undertook organizational reform to strengthen its MD functions. MD department take the leadership\r\nto coordinate departments in charge of apparel, accessories, and other miscellaneous products. MD department proposes\r\nfashion and styling themes prevailing or talked-about at a time, thereby making the company structured to be able to\r\nquickly and flexibly respond to the market. Each department is prompted to propose products according to a given\r\ntheme. For example, when the MD team comes up with an idea for \u201cSetting up a panda section as a panda baby has just\r\nbeen born at the Ueno Zoo,\u201d a floor section filled with panda items is created in a week. The company has established a\r\nsystem to aggregate specialty products according to a unified theme.\r\n\r\nSince 2015, Etoile Kaito has opened unique corporate stores one after another aiming at end consumers, including\r\n\u201cKAMAKURA necosalon\u201d selling cat-themed products in Kamakura, \u201cORACE\u201d that features its in-house travel pants\r\nbrand \u201cPITATS\u201d, LIOLA for high-end Italian knit product brand, \u201cMONOTIAM\u201d for small lot products from many unique\r\ncreators, and \u201cOTIUM\u201d, a showroom-type life-style specialty boutique. Those stores are all established to pursue the\r\nfunctions required for the next generation wholesale business. Kaito is aiming at understanding intrinsic needs in each\r\nproduct category by digging deep into select and unique markets. Kinnosuke Hayakawa is confident that \u201cThe initiative\r\nwill contribute to developing new wholesale business, as being a mere general wholesaler will not give our customers\r\nsatisfaction.\u201d He said, \u201cWe must specialize in each product area so that we can become a general wholesaler being able to\r\ncompete with specialized wholesalers.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhile hammering out new ways of doing business, Etoile Kaito keeps \u201cConnecting with others is important, and trust is\r\nthe key\u201d at the heart of its philosophy.\r\n\r\n\r\nIn its retailer support activities the company has engaged\r\nin since the 1980\u2019s, Kaito\u2019s employees visit retailers to give\r\nthem advice on products to sell. \u201cWe are relying on Kaito\u2019s\r\nstaffs who understand our store and introduce variety of\r\nproducts for us to carry\u201d, \u201cThe purchasing style of examining\r\nthe products first hand before placing orders fits our\r\nstore,\u201d said many retailer customers. President Hayakawa\r\nconfidently states, \u201cWe will strengthen our EC business\r\ngoing forward, but it will remain a complementary business.\u201d\r\n\u201cOur employees\u2019 job is also to offer explanation to retailers\r\nto promote the use of EC. Our number one job is to offer a\r\nplace for our customers to encounter our products through\r\nour wholesale business model of utilizing the strong human\r\nresources deployed at our stores.\u201d\r\n\r\n\r\nEtoile Kaito\u2019s corporate slogan as a wholesaler is \u201cYour dream to sell goods, We support!\u201d As a general wholesaler who\r\nsupports product line-ups of specialty retailers based in local communities, the company will strive and continue to\r\nsupply diverse specialty products.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/column -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.row -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.wrapper -->\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wrapper bg-gray-etoile pt-0 mt-0\">\r\n<div class=\"container inner pt-70\">\r\n<div class=\"space30\"><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"tiles\">\r\n<div class=\"items row\"><!--\/column -->\r\n<div class=\"item col-6 col-md-4\">\r\n<figure class=\"overlay caption light rounded\"><a href=\"\/vision\"> <img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/\u4f01\u696d\u7406\u5ff5\u30d5\u30c3\u30bf\u30fc.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"d-flex\">\r\n<div class=\"align-self-center mx-auto\">\r\n<div class=\"caption-inner\">\r\n<h5 class=\"text-uppercase mb-0\">Mission &amp; Values<\/h5>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!--\/column -->\r\n<div class=\"item col-6 col-md-4\">\r\n<figure class=\"overlay caption light rounded\"><a href=\"\/vision\/message\"> <img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/\u793e\u9577\u30d5\u30c3\u30bf\u30fc.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"d-flex\">\r\n<div class=\"align-self-center mx-auto\">\r\n<div class=\"caption-inner\">\r\n\r\n<h5 class=\"text-uppercase mb-0\">Supporting <br class=\"br-pc\"> retailers\u2019 dreams<\/h5>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!--\/column -->\r\n<div class=\"item col-6 col-md-4\">\r\n<figure class=\"overlay caption light rounded\"><a href=\"\/vision\/intro\"> <img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/\u4e8b\u696d\u6848\u5185.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"d-flex\">\r\n<div class=\"align-self-center mx-auto\">\r\n<div class=\"caption-inner\">\r\n<h5 class=\"text-uppercase mb-0\">Business Information<\/h5>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!--\/column -->\r\n<div class=\"item col-6 col-md-4\">\r\n<figure class=\"overlay caption light rounded\"><a href=\"\/vision\/co-info\"> <img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/\u4f1a\u793e\u6982\u8981\u30d5\u30c3\u30bf\u30fc.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"d-flex\">\r\n<div class=\"align-self-center mx-auto\">\r\n<div class=\"caption-inner\">\r\n<h5 class=\"text-uppercase mb-0\">Corporate Profile<\/h5>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!--\/column -->\r\n<div class=\"item col-6 col-md-4\">\r\n<figure class=\"overlay caption light rounded\"><a href=\"\/vision\/history\"> <img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/historyfooter.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"d-flex\">\r\n<div class=\"align-self-center mx-auto\">\r\n<div class=\"caption-inner\">\r\n<h5 class=\"text-uppercase mb-0\">History<\/h5>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!--\/column -->\r\n<div class=\"item col-6 col-md-4\">\r\n<figure class=\"overlay caption light rounded\"><a href=\"\/vision\/trajectory\"> <img src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/\u8ecc\u8de1\u30d5\u30c3\u30bf\u30fc.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"d-flex\">\r\n<div class=\"align-self-center mx-auto\">\r\n<div class=\"caption-inner\">\r\n<h5 class=\"text-uppercase mb-0\">Etoile Kaito&#8217;s Story<\/h5>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!--\/column -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!--\/.row -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.tiles -->\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<!-- \/.container -->\r\n\r\n<\/section><!-- \/.wrapper -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Continue to Create New Ways of Business Etoile Kaito Senken Shimbun: \u201cTrace of History\u201d posted on May 14, 21,  [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"parent":40,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-product.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etoile.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/etoile.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/etoile.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etoile.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etoile.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/etoile.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6060,"href":"https:\/\/etoile.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/335\/revisions\/6060"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etoile.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etoile.co.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}