Yohei Hagio, President and CEO of Premium Water Holdings Co., Ltd.

Delivering delicious Japanese water to the world

Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1978. After graduating from high school, he studied abroad at a university in the United States. He took a temporary leave of absence before entering graduate school, and at the age of 23, he founded the company that would become the FLC Group. In 2004, he established FLC Co., Ltd. In 2016, following a business integration, he became Representative Director and President of Premium Water Holdings Co., Ltd. His hobbies are triathlon, golf, and swimming.

Premium Water HD boasts the largest market share in the industry, with over 115 million in-force contracts. President Hagio has a unique way of life and way of thinking, and continues to work solely for sales. We asked him what important things in society he can convey, as a president who has experienced the economy and history of the world's greatest country firsthand and has a firsthand understanding of it.

　After graduating from high school, I immediately went on to university in the United States, but my language ability was significantly lower than that of native speakers, and I struggled even just to understand the content of the classes. From the age of 18, I had been interested in thinking about why this country's economy was so strong, and I wanted to go to America while I was still young and experience the best place in the world for myself.
　I feel that the feelings and experiences I had back then are being utilized in how to strengthen the company and in organizational theory when running the company today. This is because I believe that learning about the history of a country and how it has grown stronger has something in common with how to grow a company.
　While I was in college, I wanted to study medicine and go to graduate school, but my parents' income wasn't enough to cover the tuition fees, so I took a year off and returned to Japan. I then saved up some money and decided to return to the United States.
　In Japan, I worked hard at part-time jobs from morning till night, and at the age of 20, I went independent and founded the company that is now my company. As the company grew, I felt joy in seeing results, and I decided not to return to the United States.
　A casual conversation with a colleague at the time led me to decide to go public. However, as I researched the matter, I realized that I couldn't go public with just one product. I decided to expand my product offerings, and that's when I came across water servers. Despite having acquired customers through outbound sales, water server sales had a very low cancellation rate compared to other products, and I realized that it was a product with a good balance of supply and demand. Furthermore, because it was a business model that allowed me to differentiate myself through my own sales force, I quickly became engrossed in the water server business. Initially, I sold water servers from various companies as a distributor. Later, driven by my desire to sell better products, I began an "OEM" model, commissioning manufacturers to produce original brand products. However, my desire to sell water servers grew stronger every day. Since I was selling water servers, I wanted to become a manufacturer with its own factory. I believed that by merging Water Direct, which at the time boasted the highest quality and production capacity of natural water in Japan, with our company, which had the largest sales force in the country, we could further expand our market share in the industry. This led to the birth of the current Premium Water Holdings.

■ Maximizing the value of the company is the most rewarding thing

　When it comes to water, "safety, security, and deliciousness" are important, but safety and security alone are not enough to differentiate. By increasing the number of users, we increase our water sources, reduce manufacturing costs, and improve delivery efficiency, creating an advantage in the industry. We believe that our ability to handle everything from development to after-sales service allows us to offer more attractive products and services. However, the penetration rate of water servers in Japan is only about 8% of the industry as a whole. There is still room for growth, so we would like to increase this to 20% and aim for 10 million users.
　As a listed company, it all comes down to maximizing investment in the company. While raising the stock price is important, maximizing the company's value is my greatest responsibility, and that's what I find rewarding.

■ People who can empathize and have a clear sense of their own path

　We want to work with people who share our vision of "enriching people's lives through our activities and becoming the most beloved company in the world," our mission of "fulfilling social significance and realizing regional revitalization," and the PWHD style of "freedom and responsibility" that best symbolizes our company.
　I would be happy if we could attract talented people who do not feel like they are just employed, but who are always striving for high salaries and favorable treatment by developing themselves and increasing their value.
　It is also important for employee stock ownership plans to feel that their efforts are connected to the company's corporate value. We need to make the company one that employees want to invest in. If the results of everyone's efforts are reflected in the stock price, and as a result we can increase employees' assets, I believe everyone's lives will become better.
　I only come to the office when I have an appointment and try not to overschedule myself. This is because I believe that time to think and create is important in management, rather than being pressed for time. Producing results is the bare minimum, and I think that what is expected of a leader is to be able to create free time for themselves and do more creative work.
　Water is a precious natural resource in the world. First, we must make the Japanese people aware of the quality of Japan's natural water. We would then like to establish the value and reliability of Japan's natural water so that we can promote it to the world more than ever before.

■Message

　Just because you're a student doesn't mean you should limit your possibilities. You've been a member of society since birth. We all have to protect our parents someday, and once we have a family, we have to watch over our children as they grow up. The race with everyone else has already begun. I hope you won't be complacent just because you're a student, but will try many different things, make many mistakes, and gain experience as a member of society.

Student Newspaper April 2021 Issue Komazawa University 4th Year Student Hideki Anzai