DomDom Food Service Co., Ltd. President and CEO Shinobu Fujisaki

He started working at the age of 39 and became president. He has always valued "respect for others."

President and CEO of DomDom Food Service Co., Ltd.　Shinobu Fujisaki (Shinobu Fujisaki)

■ Profile
Born in Tokyo in 1966. At the age of 39, she went from being a full-time housewife with no work experience to working as a store manager at Shibuya 109 apparel shop and running two izakaya restaurants in Shinbashi, Tokyo. In 2017, she joined DomDom Food Service, where she became the company's president and representative director in 2018.

DomDom Food Service is Japan's first hamburger chain. It continues to be loved by local people for its unique business development. Current president Shinobu Fujisaki joined the company in November 2017 and became president nine months later. We spoke to Fujisaki, who got married at the age of 21 and started working at the age of 39, about his career, values, and the appeal of the company.

During my student days, I tried my best to find love (laughs). My dream was to become a wife, so I enrolled in a junior college majoring in child studies. Soon after enrolling, I began dating my husband, who was 12 years older than me and worked as a secretary for a member of parliament. I met my husband because my family was a local politician and he would often come and go from my father's office. He was very strict about manners and etiquette, and during our engagement I sometimes wondered whether we should get married, but I decided I wanted to support him, and we got married at the age of 21. During my student days, I also worked hard as a handball coach at my high school and helping out my father, who was a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, and my husband, who later became a ward assembly member.

■The process from graduating from junior college to starting an izakaya

After giving birth to my son at age 23, I devoted myself to raising him, enrolling him in a private kindergarten and preparing him for elementary school entrance exams. However, in July 2005, when I was 39, my husband lost his job and suffered a heart attack, forcing me to return to work. The following month, I was introduced to a store in Shibuya 109 by a friend and began working there. While I was initially surprised by the flashy fashion and provocative language of the young people there, as I spent time with them, I learned that they were also filled with sincerity and kindness, and I realized that I had been living within a limited mindset. This experience taught me to view things from multiple perspectives. Furthermore, I found it fascinating that business, where the more you work, the more results you see in numbers. Specifically, rather than setting goals like "yearly sales of hundreds of millions of yen," I focused on cleaning dirty areas of the store. I believe that solving each immediate challenge one by one led to our annual sales of 200 million yen.

However, as business improved, I was forced to quit at the age of 44 due to a change in management policy. Since I had no knowledge of business, I started working part-time at an izakaya, making use of my love of cooking. At the same time, I considered getting a job, but I wasn't considering working at this izakaya. As a 44-year-old with no skills, there was a limit to the salary I could receive. I realized that I wouldn't be able to support my husband and children that way, so I decided to start my own izakaya. A year after starting up, the izakaya was so full that I had to turn away customers, so I opened a second store next door.

■How I got involved with the company and became president

About four years after opening my own izakaya restaurant, I was approached by a regular customer, the Managing Director (current President) of Rembrandt Holdings, to assist with product development as he took over DomDom Hamburger. This is how I became involved with the company. I signed an advisory contract in July 2017, participating in several meetings per month and participating in product development. I joined the company as a full-time employee in September, and after three months as a store manager, I served as a supervisor for the East Japan region. After that, I felt that the company needed to improve its first fiscal year's financial results, lack of communication in meetings, and unclear corporate guidelines. I felt that the only way to do this was to become an executive, a position where I could speak my mind. Naturally, I was turned down when I first approached him, but I continued to approach him, and in August 2017, my enthusiasm was heard and I was appointed President.

■The mindset we value

When I work, I try to be conscious of working in harmony. I speak with consideration and move things forward after repeated discussions. I respect others, and I try not to assume that my way of doing things is always right, and I try not to impose my own values ​​on others.

■Our company's appeal and future prospects

Our greatest appeal is that, as Japan's oldest hamburger chain, we've earned the love of our customers and employees for so long. We believe that serving hamburgers crafted with meticulous craftsmanship is something only DomDom can do. We continue to adhere to our core concept: "Delicious food is our minimum promise to our customers." Another appealing aspect is our unconventional branding, which focuses on our customers and employees. For example, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly produced and sold masks in our stores to protect our employees. However, long lines of customers created crowds, so we quickly discontinued the service. We then received requests to sell masks online, so we created one within 10 days and began selling masks, selling 170,000. We now also sell stuffed toys and accessories. In this way, we place great importance on building our brand while staying close to our customers and employees. We will continue to strive to create unique stores for our customers, and we will continue to operate our business with consideration, meeting the needs of our customers and employees every day.

■What kind of people do you want to work with?

Since everyone is different, I don't feel that we should hire people with a set personality. I think a company will be more interesting if it has a diverse range of people. If I had to choose, I would like to work with people who do what they want to do.

■Message to university students

Your potential is limitless, so don't build walls around yourself, and just do what you want to do. Even if you don't have lofty goals, if you keep overcoming the hurdles in front of you, step by step, I believe you will one day reach places you never imagined. I also hope that you will have your own "pockmarks and dimples." Instead of focusing only on your shortcomings, I hope that you will find your strengths, such as a nice smile or good friends, and live your life loving yourself.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on February 28, 2024 by Amane Omori, a first-year student at Nihon University

Tamagawa University, 1st year Kawaguchi Eiri / Keio University, 4th year Ito Miyu / Sophia University Junior College, 2nd year Ohno Shiori / Nihon University, 1st year Omori Amane / Rikkyo University, 3rd year Ogata Narina / Keio University Graduate School, 2nd year Yoshihiko Yoshi