Toshiyuki Shirai, President and CEO, Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd.

Completed things are not interesting, they must continue to grow

■ Profile

Born in Hokkaido in 1955. Joined Nitori Co., Ltd. in 1979. After serving as a store manager and general manager of the logistics and human resources departments, he became representative director of Nitori Co., Ltd. in 2014. In 2016, he became president and representative director of Nitori Holdings Co., Ltd. In 2020, he became a visiting professor at Hokkaido University (Mathematics and Data Science Education and Research Center), where he also gives lectures on data science across the university.

"Oh, more than you'd expect," is the phrase that comes to mind when you think of Nitori. It's a phrase that's familiar to ears, and Nitori Holdings boasts immense popularity, putting it into practice beautifully. We spoke to President Shirai, who serves as the company's representative, about the secret to Nitori's growth over time and why people choose Nitori.

　I feel that society has undergone great changes between now and the past. The changes in recent years are probably equivalent to hundreds of years of change. When I was a student, there were no cell phones or the Internet, and everything was analog. Also, working long hours was the norm back then, and if you didn't work overtime and came home early, your family would worry about you.

The path we have walked alongside Nitori's growth

　When I joined Nitori, it was a small company with around 100 employees. During our job hunt, we chose companies to interview with based on information published in the job-hunting magazine "Recruit Book." I had always wanted to work for an interesting company with a lot of variety, so I noticed Nitori's company information, which was filled with dreamy quotes like, "Nothing is more boring than something that's complete," and decided to go for an interview. I received a job offer on the spot, and my job hunt ended with just Nitori. The fact that you're hired or rejected on the spot is also quite different from today's job hunting process. As I mentioned earlier, there weren't many ways to find out about companies at the time. I was attracted to Nitori's strong desire for growth and joined the company without even considering its size. However, at the new employee welcome party, I realized that the company only had around 100 employees, including new hires. Once I started working, my resolve to actively contribute to the company's work as a core member grew stronger with each passing day. Three years after joining the company, I was given the responsibility of managing one store, and I gained experience being relied upon by new employees. This sense of responsibility made my job more interesting. The number of stores steadily increased, sales were strong, and I began to feel like we were heading towards our goals. After that, I worked as a manager in the logistics department, a project leader for new stores, head of the store operations department and product department, head of the human resources department, and senior managing director, before becoming president of Nitori Holdings in 2016. By that time, Nitori had already grown into a large company that customers could rely on.

■Why customers choose Nitori

　One of the reasons Nitori has been chosen by customers is our constant commitment to providing products that put the customer first. Nitori strives to be an honest company, and we are dedicated to communicating the value of the product itself, not the brand name. What's important is whether the customer thinks the product is good. The quality of a product is determined by the customer, and no matter how much time and effort a company puts into it, it doesn't really matter to the customer. We value creating products that are good for the customer, not just what we think is good. Therefore, we are constantly striving to grow as a company that can provide each product with more appropriate quality and at a more affordable price. Most companies tend to keep popular hit products as they are and try to improve unpopular products. However, at Nitori, we continue to further improve our hit products. For example, one of our best-selling products is a pillow. Five or six years ago, we offered it for 2990 yen, but one day we put it on sale for 1990 yen, and it sold very well. So, thinking that if we could make our products more affordable, even more customers would buy them, we lowered the price while keeping the same quality, and they bought more than four times as much. This meant that four times as many customers liked Nitori's products and used them, and we were able to visualize customer evaluations. Our company is proud to be able to provide such truly valuable products to our customers. We believe that our desire to further improve and grow our popular products, and that we have continued to do so to this day, is what makes Nitori so appealing and what drives us.

■Message

　It's important to have goals and to continue working hard towards them. At Nitori, we set annual goals that we want to achieve each year, called "Annual Plans." All employees are currently working together to achieve the second 30-year plan. Things that seem easily achievable by anyone are actually highly competitive, and therefore opportunities are hard to come by. On the other hand, even if a goal seems impossible at first glance, if you work hard, more people will support you and your opportunities will expand. Rather than setting goals based on the likelihood of realization, set something you want to achieve and boldly take on the challenge. It's okay to fail. Just give it a try. The job that suits you may lie in a field you're not yet familiar with. Explore your areas of expertise to discover new interests and possibilities.

Student Newspaper October 2021 Issue Tsuda University 2nd Year Student Kokoro Sato