Cainz Co., Ltd. Chairman and CEO Hiromasa Tsuchiya

A bright society created by "Kindness"

Chairman and CEO of Cainz Co., Ltd.　Hiromasa Tsuchiya(Tsuchiya Hiromasa)

■ Profile
Born in 1966. After graduating from the School of Commerce at Waseda University, he joined Nomura Securities in 1990. He joined Iseya (now Beisia) in 1996 and Cainz in 1998. He became Representative Director and President in 2002. In 2007, six years after taking office, he made the SPA (Special Purpose Retailer) declaration and carried out a major transformation, steering the company towards the development of original products. He grew Cainz into a leading company in the home improvement industry. He became Chairman in March 2019.

Cainz is a leader in the home improvement industry. It values ​​"Kindness" and always delivers products that are tailored to its customers. After serving as president of Cainz, Hiromasa Tsuchiya became chairman in 2019 and is now the de facto head of the Beisia Group, which is made up of multiple companies including Cainz and Workman. We spoke to Tsuchiya about his path to becoming chairman and the appeal of Cainz.

During my university days, I was a member of the Kyogen Study Group and devoted myself to its activities. Despite being a student club, I had the wonderful experience of being taught by a professional Kyogen performer. Thanks to this experience, I am still practicing Kyogen to this day. I also traveled to the United States and visited universities in various regions. I had such a fun time at university.

■ Grow the group through centrifugal force

After graduating from university, I got a job at Nomura Securities. I worked there for six years, the first three in sales. I think the experience of meeting a variety of people and making plans and executing them on my own is very useful in my current job. Then, for the last three years, I worked in a department in charge of IPOs (when an unlisted company goes public through an initial public offering). It was quite busy, but we managed to get six or seven companies listed in those three years. However, while the person in charge of IPOs acts as a cheerleader for the company in charge, once the company actually goes public, the relationship ends. Even if you work hard to build relationships, there's no connection after the company goes public.I felt a little empty at the thought of leaving. Also, good companies grow a lot after they go public. After seeing several companies like that, I began to feel like, "I want to work for a business company too.".
Just as I was thinking about this, I was approached by the Beisia Group, which my father founded and ran, asking me if I wanted to come back and work there, so I decided to change jobs. I served as president of Cainz for 17 years from 2002, but knew almost nothing about the other group companies. In 2019, I became chairman of Cainz. At the same time as becoming chairman, I became involved in various ways with other companies in the Beisia Group in order to further strengthen them, and I decided to create a system for the growth of the entire group.
I want to create an environment in which each company in the Beisia Group can grow through centrifugal force, rather than centripetal force. My ideal management style is one in which each company thinks about and pursues how to make customers happy. In this context, I believe that what I need to do as chairman is to plant the seeds now, with an eye to the future. It takes three or four years for something new to bear fruit. That's why I always look ahead and think about what I should plant and what I should do to plant it.

■The halfway point of "Kindness"

Cainz is focusing on developing original products. Home improvement stores carry a wide variety of products, but if they only carry national brand products, they end up selling the same things everywhere, making it difficult to differentiate. Since 2000, there has been an increase in SPA companies, primarily in the apparel industry, that handle the entire process in-house, from product planning and design, to quality control, logistics, promotion, and sales. Seeing this, we thought, "Maybe we can do SPA at home improvement stores too," and so we started the company.
One product that made a particularly strong impression on me was the chopsticks. We developed chopsticks that don't roll when placed down and don't touch the base with their tips, and they won the Good Design Award in Japan and overseas. I felt that good design, design that makes life easier and more enjoyable, can travel the world.
The appeal of Cainz is that there are many kind-hearted people here. The company name Cainz comes from the word "Kindness," so many of the employees are very nice. I think this is a distinctive feature of our group. When developing products, we always put the customer first. And when serving customers, we always make it a priority to think from the customer's perspective. However, it is not enough for us to simply think that "this is a kind action." It can only be called "Kindness" when the customer perceives that action as "Kindness." I call this the "return of Kindness."
As such, we are a company that values ​​kindness, so I would like to work with people with good minds. When people join the company, it is rare for them to already have amazing skills. Rather than skills, I think it is important to have an attitude of being willing to proactively tackle challenges, being open-minded and trying to accomplish things together with the people around you.

■Contributing to the development of society through commerce

I believe that no company is needed unless it contributes to society. And what society needs changes with the times. This was at a time when there were no home improvement stores nationwide. Cainz opened its first store in Shizuoka Prefecture. At the time, prices in Shizuoka were very high, but people said that prices had come down because Cainz opened a store. Lower prices are a joy for local people. In this way, I believe that in the past, opening a store itself contributed to society. Today, in addition to offering products at lower prices, we contribute to society by delivering valuable products that improve people's lives.
We are also working on the "Kumimachi Initiative." This is an initiative to work with local residents to create a future "town life" where local residents play a central role. One example is disaster prevention. Cainz handles many disaster prevention products, so we sell these products in peacetime to help people prepare for emergencies. And in the unlikely event of a disaster, our stores can be used as evacuation shelters to protect the area. We would like to continue to carry out business that contributes to society, while responding to needs that change with the times.

■Message to university students

The things you do, think, and are influenced by as a student can greatly change your life. I hope you will cherish the time you spend facing yourself and the world around you. I believe this is a precious opportunity that only students have, so please make full use of it.

Interviewed on February 28, 2025 by Maruyama Mitomo, second-year student at International Christian University

Maruyama Mitomo, second year student at International Christian University / Kato Mayuka, third year student at Otsuma Nakano High School / Hatada Ru, second year student at Daiichi University of Pharmacy High School