Koichi Kiyomura, Representative Director and President of Yamada Homes Co., Ltd.　

2024.09.05

Even if you are not blessed with opportunities, you should never let your heart get rotten.

■ Profile
Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1964. Joined Best Denki in 1982, where he served as Executive Officer, General Manager of Corporate Planning and Chief Executive Officer, before transferring to Yamada Denki Co., Ltd. in 2018. He served as Head of Corporate Strategy in the Corporate Planning Department, and Executive Officer, General Manager of Corporate Planning and Sustainability Promotion at Yamada Holdings Co., Ltd., before assuming the position of Representative Director and President and Chief Executive Officer of Yamada Homes Co., Ltd. in September 2023.

Yamada Holdings offers a variety of housing-related services under the concept of "All-inclusive Living." We spoke with Yamada Homes President Koichi Kiyomura, who focuses on selling homes, which make up a large part of people's lives, and continues to create sustainable homes that are energy self-sufficient thanks to electric vehicles, home storage batteries, and solar panels.

■ When I first joined the company, I had no desire to become a big shot.

In high school, I was very healthy and attended every class. The fact that I was able to attend every day without missing a day is something I am proud of.
After graduating from high school, I joined a home appliance retailer called "Best Denki" and worked as a salesperson selling home appliances. At the time, even junior high school students could work jobs such as delivering newspapers. My family was struggling financially, so I had to try out a variety of part-time jobs to make ends meet, which probably helped me naturally acquire the ability to behave like an adult. After joining the company, I was able to handle face-to-face customer service with ease. Looking back, I feel that customer service is my calling.
When I was a student, I never thought I would become a president. I didn't really think about becoming important or rich in my future prospects, but rather, I felt fulfilled by selling home appliances at Best Denki, making customers happy through those appliances, and seeing that reflected in my salary. I never had any desire to "become a leader" or "become important," but looking back now, after 43 years, I realize that if you work honestly, opportunities will be given to you.

■The unexpected big role of president in my corporate career planning

In 2015, Best Denki fell into a management crisis and was rescued by Yamada Holdings (then Yamada Denki) and brought under its umbrella. Yamada Holdings has a shorter company history, but it was overwhelmingly larger in terms of scale, sales profits, and capital.
After joining the group, I remained with Best Denki for about five years, but six years ago I volunteered to negotiate a transfer to Yamada. After joining Yamada, I was assigned to the Finance Department and then served in roles such as Head of Corporate Strategy and Corporate Planning for about five and a half years. Just as I was about to turn 60, Chairman Yamada asked me to become President of Yamada Homes. Having worked in the electronics retail industry for so long, I naturally knew very little about housing. However, the position of President is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I accepted it as a way to mark my own history. Only Chairman Yamada himself knows why he chose me out of all the other employees at the time, but I had worked alongside him for about three years, so I think he thought, "He's a man of great stamina who could contribute to the rebuilding of Yamada Homes."

■YAMADA Smart House responds flexibly to customer needs

Yamada Homes has a history of selling homes with higher added value than other companies, and we already have strengths such as earthquake resistance, airtightness, insulation, and comfort. A home is the most expensive purchase a person will make in their life. The key to customer satisfaction is whether we can sincerely address and propose solutions tailored to each customer's needs, such as budget, plan, and building performance.
Each customer has different needs, and we cannot know their future plans, requests, circumstances, etc. until we meet them in person. We always strive to make the best proposals possible based on these needs.
Recently, we have also started handling electric vehicles (EVs) and have begun selling the Yamada Smart House, which is a set that includes a home and electric vehicle. You can use the electricity generated by solar panels in the home and store any excess electricity in the EV. This allows you to run on renewable energy at all times, day or night, making it environmentally friendly, and even in the event of a power outage during a disaster, you can use the electricity stored in the EV, allowing you to live for two to three days. Furthermore, by selling the set including furniture and other interior products, we are now able to make more flexible proposals to suit our customers' needs.

Our goal is to build 5000 homes in one year.

Currently, Yamada Homes builds around 3000 homes per year, but I would like to grow the company so that we can build 5000 homes per year. Yamada Homes has the potential to do just that. If we can build 5000 homes per year, I believe we will finally be a fully-fledged house manufacturer, so I would like to work hard towards that goal.

No matter how difficult the situation, never let your heart get rotten

I became president of Yamada Homes on September 16, 2023, and currently have 1800 subordinates. Since taking office, I have been telling all of my subordinates, "There will be times when your work is difficult, when you feel unrecognized and start to belittle yourself, or when you lament the position you're in. There may be times when you feel like giving up, but at times like those, never let your heart get discouraged."
It's true that there may be times when you're not blessed with opportunities, but if you never give up and just focus on what's in front of you, someone will definitely discover your abilities. Opportunities for others to discover you will come your way, so you should never give up. I tell them to keep that in mind as they work every day.
This is all something I've learned from my own experience.

■Message to students

It is you who will create the future of Japan. Don't forget that, and as you enter the workforce, do your best every day without straying from the path of humanity. If you put that into practice, the results will come naturally. Once you enter society, you will encounter difficulties and people with different ways of thinking, but don't be intimidated by them and tackle them with confidence. It is our generation and those of our predecessors that have built the foundations for the future, so from now on it is your generation. Stay positive, energetic, and do your best.

Student Newspaper Online, May 23, 2024, Interview by Reina Inomoto, 1st year student at Kyoto University of the Arts

Takasaki City University of Economics, 4th year student, Yuya Takahashi / Kyoto University of the Arts, 1st year student, Reina Inomoto / Keio University, 3rd year student, Sari Tsuka / Tsuda University, 2nd year student, Karin Ishimatsu / Musashino University, 4th year student, Ryusei Nishiyama