Taro Yamamoto, President and CEO of Hard Off Corporation

Improve the world's environment through reuse!

■ Profile

Born on November 16, 1980 in Shibata City, Niigata Prefecture. Graduated from the School of Commerce at Waseda University. After graduating, he studied store management at Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. (Uniqlo) before joining Hard Off Corporation. Since April 2019, he has been in charge of over 900 group stores as Representative Director and President, working to spread the "reuse" culture in Japan and around the world.

As of the end of December 2021, Hard Off Corporation operates 917 stores nationwide, including overseas, specializing in reuse. Amidst various social issues around the world, including global warming, we spoke with President and CEO Taro Yamamoto about the characteristics of Hard Off Corporation and its future plans.

■ Student days dedicated to the tennis club

In high school, I represented Niigata Prefecture in the team competition at the Inter-High School Championships, so I wanted to go as far as I could in tennis at university, and club activities became the center of my university life. I attended the bare minimum of classes and was immersed in tennis. During my student days, I was so focused on tennis that I even worked part-time as a tennis coach and as a clerk at a tennis shop.
I learned a lot from my club activities because I was so serious about them. The club became a society in itself, and I learned a lot about management and how to build a strong organization. There are many parts of that that are connected to the way I live and think today.

■I learned a lot during my two and a half years as a company employee

After graduating from university, I got a job at UNIQLO. Although my father, the founder of our company, had never said that he absolutely wanted me to take over the company, I had a strong desire to do so. I didn't think about salary or benefits at all, but rather chose UNIQLO because I only considered how I could focus on my studies without any regrets.
The biggest thing I learned at UNIQLO was the importance of philosophy-based management. When you join UNIQLO, you first learn the basics, such as the company's philosophy and vision, in depth. Without a philosophy, a great team will fall apart. The importance of philosophy that I learned here is very important when running a company.
At UNIQLO, I also learned the joy of work. I had a really good time at university, so when I first joined the company, I felt it was inevitable because working adults have to work. However, in my first year, my boss taught me how the more you put in the effort, the more you get out of it, and how fun it is to see your connections with people grow. I had so much fun that when I left the company, I was a little reluctant. I also had a period when I was involved in the launch of a new large store in Osaka, where managing 200 part-time staff was a great opportunity to learn about management. Believing that "if I work twice as hard as other people, I can gain twice as much experience," I pushed myself, and it was a very fulfilling two and a half years.

■The fun of Hard Off Corporation

I think that in chain stores, basically, everyone has to do things the same way, but that's what makes Hard Off different. Each employee and area has their own unique character, and we value that. There are some stores that are particular about things like greetings and cleaning, but generally we try to keep the number of set rules to a minimum. There is a lot of variation, but that's what makes it rewarding and fun.
In addition, 36 companies have franchises nationwide, and by franchising, we can work with owners who are familiar with the area, even in areas we are not familiar with, such as Shikoku, Kyushu, and Hokkaido, and we can create stores that are well-established in the local community through clever arrangements. Another difference from other companies is that the business types are separated. Hard Off store managers are extremely knowledgeable about audio and musical instruments. Off House store managers are knowledgeable about furniture and clothing, and Liquor Off store managers are sommeliers and hold wine qualifications. In other words, they have expertise and product knowledge, so it's fun to talk to the store staff.

■What is the "Philosophy Management" that Hard Off values?

We value management based on principles. Hard Off's management principles are "1. Will it benefit society? 2. Will it benefit our customers? 3. Will it benefit our employees and staff? 4. Will it benefit the company?" These are the things we consider most, and we don't do things just because it's profitable. We make decisions based on the future, considering what will benefit society, our customers, and our staff.

The next step is to export the reuse culture overseas and to adopt digital transformation

I would like to take on two challenges: overseas expansion and digitalization. First of all, the culture of reuse is very eco-friendly. With global warming currently progressing, eco-friendliness is essential in every country around the world. That's why I would like to export the culture of reuse to the world. In fact, there aren't many other countries where people reuse things as easily as they do in Japan. The culture of treating things with care is unique to Japan, so I would like to contribute to improving environmental issues by spreading this culture to many countries and places around the world.
Furthermore, digitalization is sure to continue to advance in the future. As a result, we plan to further enhance our real-world presence by promoting digital transformation and making full use of the internet. We would like to expand our domestic operations to 2000 stores across the entire group, and make Japan a more eco-friendly country.

■ I want to work with people who share my philosophy and are attractive as people.

I would like to work with people who share our company philosophy and are aiming for the same place. It's not enough to have product knowledge; I want people who have a spirit of challenge and are honest. I also want people who have free thinking, so I think a spirit of challenge is especially important.
I interview everyone at the final interview. It's good to be cheerful and energetic, but there are also successful employees who aren't, so I think it's important to be able to imagine that the person will thrive in the company by actually working there.

■Message

I want people to value reality. Information is readily available these days, and it's easy to access it online, but I believe that the experience of seeing with your own eyes and feeling with your own hands gives you strength. Strong people are those who are able to go and experience things for themselves.
The feeling you get from researching various information on the internet is completely different from the feeling you get from touching and experiencing various things for yourself or visiting an unfamiliar place. Please make sure to focus on real, first-hand experiences.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on September 29, 2021 by Takaki Ouchi, a second-year student at Nippon Sport Science University