Yasuhiko Takafune, President and CEO of USEN Corporation

By promoting store DX, we can achieve things that only people can do.

USEN Corporation President and CEO　Yasuhiko Takafune(Kifune Yasuhiko)

■ Profile

He joined Osaka Cable Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (later USEN) in 1995 as a sales representative, and subsequently served as branch manager, branch president, and sales planning manager before being stationed in Shanghai in 2012 to launch the company's overseas business. After returning to Japan in 2016, he served as general manager of business promotion, general manager of sales, executive officer, and director, and was appointed president and representative director of USEN Co., Ltd. in September 2023.

Founded over 60 years ago, USEN (USEN-NEXT GROUP) boasts the No. 1 domestic market share* in music distribution services that deliver background music to stores. In addition to background music, the company offers comprehensive services ranging from support for opening a store to operational support. What strategies and aspirations does USEN have as it aims to create true value for stores? We spoke to President and CEO Yasuhiko Takafune about the company's business.

*From the Integrated Report for the fiscal year ending August 2023
https://usen-next.co.jp/ir/integrated_report.html

I was a member of the golf club in high school, and my high school life revolved around golf. While everyone around me was going on to higher education, instead of going to university to study, I became a trainee to pursue my dream of becoming a professional golfer. Golf is an individual game. It's not just about improving your own skills, but also about how to change your mindset, and the experiences I gained back then are still useful to me today.
After that, I decided to look for a job, but I had a strong desire to change myself because I was not good at communicating with people. So, in order to overcome my weakness, I decided to apply to a company where I could work in sales. Every company has sales, but as I loved music, I wanted to work in a job related to music. So I decided to join USEN, whose music streaming service is used in all stores.

■ Repeated conversations with customers based on the desire to overcome poor communication skills

After being assigned to sales, I made an effort to speak with as many customers as possible. When doing so, I focused on understanding the customer's store situation and proposing the optimal service. After that, at USEN, I was not only in sales, but also in charge of a variety of other positions, businesses, and planning. My experience in sales overseas is particularly useful to me today. I was stationed in Shanghai and involved in investing in a music distribution startup. It was only when I joined the company as COO of a small-to-medium-sized enterprise that I realized for the first time that all of the company's departments were connected as one. The management thinking I learned there has led to my current job. At the time, I was unfamiliar with overseas environments, but my mission to expand the music distribution business overseas motivated me. Now that I'm president, my perspective has changed thanks to my involvement in various businesses, and I believe that many of those experiences are useful in my work.

■ Creating the future of stores through store DX

USEN provides services that address staff shortages and improve operational efficiency, and is developing its business with the hope that customers can use their free time to benefit the future of their stores. In the case of store operations, increasing efficiency allows customers to focus on their core customer service duties, such as encouraging customers to order and explaining the menu. As a result, we believe that not only will operational efficiency improve, but we will also create an environment that brings smiles to the faces of customers who visit the store, which in turn will lead to the creation of true value for the store.
To achieve this, we are focusing on product development of services that stores need. Until now, we have focused on music distribution services, but now we offer a comprehensive subscription service that addresses all the issues stores face, such as support for opening, preparations for opening, sales promotion, and operational support. Subscriptions can quickly lead to cancellations if customers lose trust. For this reason, we have deployed approximately 1,000 field engineers at approximately 135 locations nationwide to provide immediate maintenance support for any service, and we maintain warranty, repairs, and 24-hour support at all times.
Another benefit of developing our products in-house is that we can listen to customer feedback while we develop them. It would be difficult to differentiate ourselves with just one service, but by proposing multiple services as a package, we can centralize aftercare for each task, so our customers can feel confident that they can rely on USEN.

■ The goal is to introduce the service to over 400 million stores and become No. 1 in each service.

In addition, we are working with 25 group companies to ensure that our services reach a variety of industries and stores. Currently, our services are available in approximately 82 stores, but we would like to eventually introduce them to over 400 million stores. To achieve this, we would like to capture new needs not only by utilizing our own resources, but also by increasing the number of partner companies and expanding into stores that we have not yet reached.
We have the number one domestic market share for music distribution services, but we are not number one in individual areas such as POS registers, so we believe that we can expand our market share by becoming number one in each area of ​​service. To achieve this, our products must be easy for customers to use and lead to sales, so we don't just develop the product and leave it at that; we want to continue making improvements by listening to customer feedback.

■ Research into the effects of sound on people

USEN is conducting joint research with universities and other research institutes into the effects of sound on people. Rather than simply playing background music, we are studying which music, when played, and where it affects people, allowing us to use music for various purposes, such as in offices and schools. When we previously offered around 440 channels, many stores had fixed songs playing, with customers reluctant to change channels. However, by utilizing AI, we can now select background music that suits the atmosphere of each store, such as by automatically creating playlists tailored to the demographics of customers in the store. I believe USEN's strength lies in its ability to develop new services and content while listening to customer feedback, such as "I wish there was a service like this."

■Message to university students

I believe that I am who I am today because I was able to challenge myself to achieve my dreams. I urge all university students to take the initiative and act. Input is important, but I also want you to be conscious of output.
Another important thing is honesty. I think people who can take seriously what is happening in the world and what others say and apply it to themselves will grow significantly. As the times change dramatically, I hope that you will value the proactive action of trying to absorb and output, and the spirit of challenge.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on January 12, 2024 by Daiki Shimada, a third-year student at Hosei University