Yuzo Endo, Representative Director and President, GEO Holdings Co., Ltd.

Creating a business that considers the best interests of customers. GEO supports a rich lifestyle

Representative Director and President, GEO Holdings Co., Ltd.　Yuzo Endo(Endou Yuzo)

■ Profile
Born January 21, 1978, in Aichi Prefecture. Graduated from the School of Political Science and Economics at Waseda University in 2000, and joined GEO Corporation (now GEO Holdings Corporation) in the same year. After serving as Deputy Director of the President's Office in 2004, he became Representative Director and President in 2011. In 2013, he became Representative Director, President and Executive Officer, and in 2019, he became Representative Director, President and Executive Officer (current position).

GEO Holdings provides a wide range of consumer services, focusing on reuse, rental, and mobile businesses. The company continues to grow through reuse shops such as "Second Street," which are now expanding both domestically and internationally. We spoke with President and CEO Yuzo Endo about the appeal of GEO Holdings, which has always aimed to enrich the lives of its customers.

I spent my student days working part-time jobs. I'd been interested in politics since I was a child, often watching election specials and newspaper feature articles. A career in politics or the media was always an option. However, the more I learned about them, the more I realized how challenging they were, and I began to consider joining the family business. GEO was originally a family business, but my father, the company's founding president, invited me to learn more about the company's operations, and I eventually decided to join. However, I didn't start working immediately after graduation. I worked at another company I had a connection with before before joining GEO. At the time, GEO's core business was video rentals. However, I predicted that the demand for videos would steadily decrease in the future, so I decided to diversify the company's operations. Since becoming president in 2011, I've been even more conscious of this direction.

■ Providing customers with a rich and enjoyable lifestyle

GEO's philosophy is to "provide a rich and enjoyable daily life." To achieve this, the company operates its business on three pillars: reuse, mobile phones, and rentals. The company sees great potential in the reuse business in particular, and has expanded its reuse shop "Second Street" to 850 stores nationwide, with the goal of expanding this to 1000 stores in the future.
It is said that competition in the reuse business has intensified with the emergence of flea market apps, but we don't feel that much of a sense of crisis. Some customers want to sell individually using other companies' CtoC services, while others want to sell in bulk at reuse shops, so we have the impression that they are using the services effectively. We want to continue to provide an environment that is convenient for customers, so we have not made any major efforts to differentiate ourselves.
GEO's greatest strengths are low prices, a wide selection of products, and nearby stores. We don't spend more money than necessary on our stores. We rarely build new stores, reusing locations where other stores have vacated and opening new stores at minimal cost, which allows us to offer products at low prices to our customers. We also set prices uniformly nationwide, and we are always conscious of overall optimization, taking a bird's-eye view from Hokkaido to Okinawa.
Also, whenever we start something new, we always consider the worst-case scenario. If we can imagine what would happen if we failed and what risks there are, we can move forward with confidence. Our goal of expanding our reuse business worldwide is based on such careful planning.

■Global expansion and the future of reuse

Our reuse business has already expanded into five countries, including Japan, the United States, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand, but there are not many companies operating on a similar scale. We decided to expand into these countries because we felt there was potential for us to establish a global, Gulliver-like position. We would like to continue expanding our reuse business from Japan to the world.

■You don't have to be able to do everything. Use your strengths as a weapon

I place great importance on communication with my employees. I send out a "President's Newsletter" once a week, listening to the voices of those on the front lines while also conveying my own thoughts. I believe it's important to adhere to a customer-first philosophy in all our businesses. When it comes to hiring, GEO also values ​​curious talent. A division of labor is the basis of chain stores, and professionals in each field are needed. You don't need to be perfect at everything, but I think people who have some kind of strength that they "can't be beaten at" will be able to shine. We're also fortunate to have many employees and part-time workers at GEO who are involved in the company because they love the products we handle, such as games, music, and movies.

■Our goal is to become a trillion-yen company. Aiming to be a company that leaps from Japan to the world

Going forward, we would like to further expand our business, focusing on the reuse business. We aim to invigorate the entire reuse industry and ultimately become a trillion-yen company. GEO's mission is to enrich and increase the value of our customers' lives through the accumulation of reuse, mobile devices, and rentals. Through reuse, we aim to make a leap from Japan to the world.

■Message to students

I would like all students to use their time to satisfy their curiosity. Student life is a precious time when you can pursue your interests and curiosity. I believe that these experiences will ultimately hone your individuality and be useful when you enter society. Also, although this industry is not a core industry, it supports the entertainment and daily lives of our customers. I would be delighted if you would also take an interest in the reuse, mobile, and rental industries.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on May 7, 2024 by Daiki Shimada, a fourth-year student at Hosei University