Kasumi Co., Ltd. President and CEO Shinichiro Yamamoto

The added value of services changes with the times

President and CEO of Kasumi Co., Ltd.　Shinichiro Yamamoto(Yamamoto Shinichiro)

■ Profile
Born July 24, 1959 in Ishikawa Prefecture. Joined Kasumi in March 2013, became Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer, Logistics Division Manager in May 2014, Senior Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer in March 2017, and Representative Director and President in March 2020 (current position). Became Representative Director and Vice President of United Supermarkets Holdings in March 2022 (current position).

Kasumi Co., Ltd. operates supermarkets in the Kanto region and is constantly trying new things, such as smartphone payment apps and unmanned registers. How will supermarkets change in line with the times? We spoke to President Yamamoto about this.

I studied law at university, but to be honest, there was a big gap between what I wanted to do and what I was studying, so I couldn't really immerse myself in my studies. Instead, during my student days, I was passionate about rhythm & blues and rock bands. There is no right answer in the world of music, so there were disagreements and conflicts, but looking back on it as a fond memory.

■ Opening my eyes to the future possibilities and freedom of Japan's distribution industry

When I graduated from university, the image of the distribution industry was that it was busy, and not many people got a job there. In fact, the distribution industry known as supermarkets is a business that originally originated in the United States. As a result, America has a longer history of about 40 years than Japan, and the supermarket industry is such a prestigious industry overseas that it ranks highly among the most desirable places to work.
Given this situation, I felt that if we could increase the productivity of supermarkets in Japan, we could make it a better industry, and I was attracted by this possibility and decided to enter this industry.
Currently, payment for services is not widely accepted in Japan, but I feel that as time goes on, people are gradually becoming more willing to spend money on intangible services such as cloud services, music, and video. In the same way, I think that a future challenge for this industry will be to give shape to the added value of services.

■ Increase added value in line with the times and customer demographics

Our point of differentiation is our constant innovation and innovation in how we do business. For example, we have introduced "Scan & Go ignica," an app-based payment service that allows customers to register products and make payments on their smartphones without waiting in line at the register. This solves the problem of customers lacking prior information, which was a challenge faced by traditional brick-and-mortar stores, by using the app to fill in any missing information and support customers in making a satisfying purchase. It has been about four years since "Scan & Go ignica" was launched, and we continue to improve the service every month.
We are also working on many other projects. One of them is a "mobile sales" service, where products are loaded into light vehicles and the vehicles make the rounds around the neighborhood several times a week, for people who cannot shop online or who are struggling to live alone. We are currently running this service in cooperation with various local governments with 55 vehicles. As it also serves as a monitoring service for elderly people, we are creative in visiting their homes if we have not seen them at the sales locations recently. We would like to eventually increase this to 100-200 vehicles.
We also pioneered the introduction of unmanned cash registers. This is not simply a way to reduce staff. Rather than having people at the register, we aim to provide a good experience for customers by having them provide services such as wine tasting (for a fee). Instead of waiting for customers at the register, attendants will be by their side to help them if they have trouble operating the register. In this way, as we introduce new services, we are adding high-value-added services that take into consideration the needs and situations of our customers.
Recently, a new supermarket called BLΛNDE has also opened. Unlike other supermarkets, BLΛNDE values ​​specialization. It also introduces unique features that are unique to the store, such as a lounge exclusively for gold members.

■ Positivity creates new things

I would like to work with people who are positive and open to new challenges. It is important to be enthusiastic about new challenges without being bound by the past. In addition to enthusiasm, it is also important to learn in order to translate that enthusiasm into action. Recently, we have also been placing importance on branding, so we are always looking for people with high levels of expertise. Currently, we have people from a variety of fields involved, from logistics to digital.

■Message to university students

It is necessary to continue learning not only during your student days, but also after you enter society. If you do not continue to learn in life, you will be left behind by society. Unlike when you were a student, learning after entering society means that you have opportunities to immediately try out what you have learned. There is no end to learning, so I hope that you will continue learning no matter how old you are.

Interview with Student Newspaper Online on December 27, 2023 by Maho Wada, a third-year student at Nihon University