Tsukasa Ojima, Executive Officer in charge of business promotion and branding, AEON Co., Ltd.

Always challenging ourselves to bring smiles to people's faces

Executive Officer, Business Promotion and Branding, AEON Co., Ltd.　Tsukasa Ojima(Tsukasa Ojima)

■ Profile
He joined Sanwa Bank, Ltd. (now Mitsubishi UFJ Bank) in April 1986. He then joined Lehman Brothers Securities Co., Ltd. in January 2005, became an executive officer at Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. in June 2012, became a director at Wealth Management Co., Ltd. in June 2017, and became a director at Ootoya Holdings Co., Ltd. in June 2020, before joining AEON Co., Ltd. in June 2021. He became an executive officer at the company in March 2022, responsible for business promotion and branding.

AEON Co., Ltd. continues to evolve as a driving force in the retail industry. They are always working to bring smiles to customers' faces. This is the very essence of Executive Officer Ojima's philosophy of life. With the clear goal of making people smile, Ojima is always challenging himself, so we spoke to him about his consistent philosophy of life and AEON's outlook for the future.

The most important thing in my life is curiosity. I have always tried anything that I thought was interesting. During my student days, I was interested in new things and continued to try them out, such as martial arts, motorcycling, windsurfing, skiing, scuba diving in Australia, and working holiday hopping. My student days were always filled with excitement and thrills.
After graduating from university, I joined a bank. The deciding factor was the people. There were a lot of eccentric people with a rebellious spirit, and I thought it would be interesting.
After working for 19 years, I moved to an investment bank and a securities company before coming to where I am today. I believe the key to overcoming the struggles I have faced is curiosity.
As the Old Testament teaches, what we have now has been given to us by God, so we should be grateful and make the most of it. My philosophy in life is to make the most of the opportunities and connections that are given to me. To achieve this, I try all sorts of things. There aren't many risks involved. Of course, there are times when things don't go well, but I think it's important to keep trying without hesitation and without fear of failure. I find the most enjoyable thing is to find something that you can become passionate about, and to think it through while seriously considering it.

■ Evolve to meet customer needs

While I was working at a bank, I was approached by AEON about establishing a bank, which led me to become an advisor to AEON and involved in numerous M&As and the revitalization of subsidiaries. Currently, as an executive officer, I am working to promote new businesses and increase the brand's value.
AEON is a huge group with approximately 560,000 employees and 300 subsidiaries, and we have many connections with many people.
We are constantly taking on challenges from the customer's perspective, focusing on our customers in the "AEON Living Area." Our leadership in the mall business, the launch of AEON Bank, and the promotion of financial credit overseas are all part of this same context. As times change, so do customer needs.
Unlike the 1980s, when mass marketing was the norm, we are now in the "age of the individual," where values ​​are becoming increasingly diverse. The extent to which a company can respond to diversifying customer needs and act from the customer's perspective will determine the company's growth.
That's why AEON Mall has so many specialty stores. It changes to meet the needs of customers at any given time, so AEON Mall is constantly changing and evolving, never being complete. Since 2000, AEON has undertaken M&A worth 4.5 trillion yen in sales. We are constantly evolving our content to provide a variety of value to meet customer needs.

■ Fresh foods taking on the EC challenge

The COVID-19 pandemic has made e-commerce a bigger presence. E-commerce has been successful for products that are expensive and lightweight. At the other end of the spectrum, heavier, cheaper products—in other words, fresh food—are the category least suited to e-commerce. Temperature control and demand forecasting are also extremely difficult, and even major retailers still have a long way to go. Aeon, in this climate, is taking on the challenge of e-commerce for fresh food. It has established a dominant position in the online supermarket market with its "Aeon at Home" service, and has partnered with the UK-based company OCADO, investing heavily in the establishment of large-scale fulfillment centers and the creation of efficient delivery systems. These challenges are unique to Aeon, and are likely a key differentiator from other online supermarkets.

■ Changing the brand image

AEON will continue to build on its existing brand image of safety and security by creating smiles. I believe this is the fundamental theme that AEON should strive for. AEON's number one principle is to be a peaceful industry. Without peace, there are no smiles. It is natural to want to lend a helping hand in the face of sadness and tears. I believe that restoring smiles to those around us is an important part of life.
In other words, technological innovation is meaningless if it leads to environmental destruction. We are all working hard to make ourselves happy, but the result is not smiles, but widespread suffering, and this is why the SDGs are being called for.
AEON has been one of the first to tackle environmental issues and continues to plant trees. This is also to contribute to smiles. After all, our ultimate goal is to make people smile. We believe that we should never lose sight of that core value.

＊message＊

I want you to take on many challenges without being afraid of failure. I want you to live a life where you don't just satisfy yourself, but take on challenges, expand your horizons, and make the people you come into contact with smile.
I believe that continuing to take on challenges while finding joy in making people smile is a truly fun and exciting life. What's important here is to recognize the talents and abilities that God has given you and make the most of them. Whatever your field, I hope you will always think about why you are doing it and use your talents to make people smile.

Student Newspaper April 1, 2022 Issue Sophia University 10th Year Student Yagi Ayaka