Mega Sports Co., Ltd. President and CEO Takashi Miura

The origin of everything is a culture of valuing people

President and CEO of Mega Sports Co., Ltd.　三浦隆司(Takashi Miura)

■ Profile
He joined Jusco Co., Ltd. (now Aeon Co., Ltd.) in 1985, and served as Senior Managing Director of Talbots Japan Co., Ltd., President of Guangdong Jusco, Executive Officer and General Manager of the Product Division of Aeon Retail Co., Ltd., and President of Topvalu Collection Co., Ltd.
In 2023, he became head of AEON Co., Ltd.'s specialty store business, and from 2024 he will also serve as Representative Director and President of Mega Sports Co., Ltd.

Mega Sports was established as a sports retailer within the Aeon Group. Many of its stores are located in shopping malls, and the company delivers the appeal of sports to customers through its products. We spoke with Mr. Miura, CEO of Mega Sports, about his experiences before becoming president, the appeal of Mega Sports, and his message to students.

When I started job hunting, I was interested in the hotel industry. In the mid-80s, the word "leisure" began to be used in society. I believed that the times were changing from a work-focused lifestyle to one in which people would value their personal time for family and hobbies, and I saw potential in the leisure and travel industries. As I continued my job search, I encountered the retail industry at an event held at my university where corporate recruiters gathered. I had never had the opportunity to work in the retail industry before, but I found the work fascinating. I was particularly drawn to general retailers that handle food, clothing, and shelter. I was drawn to the unique process of retail: understanding customer needs, purchasing products, and then having the products I requested displayed on the sales floor, delighting customers. Therefore, among the many retailers, I decided to join Jusco (as it was then called) because it had a solid personnel and training system and seemed to value people.

Each experience is connected to the present

After joining the company, I gained extensive experience working at a variety of companies. For my first 10 years, I was in charge of the apparel sales floor at Jusco (then). Since it was my first job, I made it a point to ask my superiors questions whenever I didn't understand something and to keep learning. After that, I spent 10 years at a specialty apparel store with its headquarters in the United States. I then volunteered to be posted to China, where I became president of a local subsidiary operating a general merchandise store. I then served as clothing manager at AEON Retail Co., Ltd., president of a specialty apparel store in 2019, manager of specialty store operations at AEON Co., Ltd. in 2023, and in spring 2024, president of Mega Sports. I've experienced a variety of tasks and positions, and each experience taught me a great deal. In particular, as president in China, I faced cultural, value, and language barriers, which really brought home to me the importance of communication. I believe this experience has helped me even after returning to Japan. As the location and size of a company, as well as my own position, the perspectives and learning required change. I believe each of these experiences has supported me to this day. As president of Mega Sports, I am particularly conscious of conversations with employees. I make it a point to visit stores on a daily basis and talk directly with employees on the ground. Through proactive communication, I am able to understand the issues occurring on the ground and use this to create better stores.

■ Differentiation through customer service

A key feature of Mega Sports is that we primarily locate our stores in AEON Malls. This means that our customers are not only interested in sports, but also in fashion and wellness, and we target customers who visit the mall to enjoy the entire experience. To that end, we place apparel and sneakers in prominent locations to ensure they are accessible to a wide range of customers. However, the sports industry often deals in national brand products, making it difficult to differentiate through product. Therefore, we differentiate ourselves by providing customer service tailored to customer needs. This is part of AEON's DNA. I believe we spend significantly more time training new employees on customer service etiquette than other companies. We particularly value listening sincerely to customer feedback and providing accurate advice. Product knowledge is, of course, important. However, customers can now easily find product information online. This is why Mega Sports places such importance on engaging in dialogue with customers.

■We want to be a part of the local community

Popular sports vary greatly depending on the region. I was surprised when I visited a store in Kyushu and found that volleyball equipment had the highest sales. Table tennis is also popular in some areas. Mega Sports values ​​the unique characteristics of each region and creates sales areas tailored to the sports that are popular in each area. If there is strong demand for a particular sport, we operate our stores in a way that responds to the voices of local customers, such as by expanding the sales area for that sport. We also actively engage in community-based activities, such as collaborating with schools and local clubs to hold seminars, in order to deepen our ties with the community. Through these efforts, we hope to become a part of the local community.
Mega Sports is a company that deals with sports, so we want to work with people who love sports. We welcome not only people who love competitive sports, but also people who love sports fashion and are passionate about sports to join us. We believe that the power of such people will help to boost Mega Sports in the future. In addition to opening stores in shopping malls, we are also planning to launch a new specialty store format. We already operate lifestyle shops centered around sports, so we aim to evolve these into specialty store formats and increase the number of stores and sales.

■Message to students

I want all students to actively explore the world. In addition to your daily studies, learning about the world is a challenge that will surely be an invaluable experience. It is you students who will support Japan in the future and create a bright future. I hope you will proactively venture out into the world, learn as much as you can, and make Japan's future even brighter.

Interviewed on February 29, 2025 by Maruyama Mitomo, second-year student at International Christian University

Shimada Daiki, fourth-year student at Hosei University / Saeki Sakura, fourth-year student at Hosei University / Maruyama Mitomo, third-year student at International Christian University