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Alumni Interview: Hiroyuki Miyajima, President and Representative Director, Bic Camera Co.
- June 16, 2020
Profile.
Hiroyuki Miyajima
Born in Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture in 1959, Hiroyuki Miyajima joined Bic Camera Co., Ltd. in 1984 after graduating from the Faculty of Letters, Department of English Literature, and became the store manager of the Shibuya East Exit Store in 1993. In 1993, he became the store manager of the Shibuya East Exit Store.
After serving as a director and manager of the Ikebukuro main store, and then as a director and general manager of the sales division, he was appointed president and representative director in November 2005.
Hard work never betrays you. I want to keep in mind the feelings of a salesperson and respond to change.
Hiroyuki Miyajima joined Bic Camera as a new graduate during the venture era, and has served as president since 2005. He says that the important thing in the retail industry is to "respond to change," and he is actively developing collaborations with different industries.
Responding to changes in the world through collaboration with different industries
It has been 35 years since I joined Bic Camera as a first-generation university graduate. At that time, we had only two stores, but as our founder Takashi Arai (current chairman) said, "We will grow rapidly from now on," and we have grown to 45 stores nationwide and 222 stores in the entire group (as of the end of February 2020).
Although we are sometimes referred to as a "mass consumer electronics retailer," we consider ourselves to be a "collection of specialty stores" that offer a lineup of products that sell only once every three years. In recent years, the percentage of non-home electronics products, such as alcoholic beverages and daily necessities, has increased, and new stores are now placing such products on the first floor to appeal to women and younger customers who are "reluctant to enter home electronics stores.
In the retail industry, it is vital to respond to changes in the world ahead of others. The much-talked-about "BICQLO," a fusion of fashion and home electronics stores, not only attracted new customers, but also sparked subsequent partnerships and collaborations with other industries.
Air Bic Camera," a store in an airport that mainly targets foreign tourists, "Rakuten Bic," an e-commerce site that offers highly convenient services that transcend the boundaries between online and offline, and Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, which opened in February of this year, are examples of such partnerships, where new business models and new New business models and new know-how are emerging from collaborations with other companies.
A camera exhibition in Las Vegas, U.S.A., that Miyajima visited in 1990 as an advertising manager (Miyajima is on the left).
Seeking a future career through a number of part-time jobs
During my college years, I worked part-time. I entered the Department of English of Faculty of Letters with a vague idea of becoming a "school teacher," so I started by working part-time as a tutor at a cram school and as a private tutor.
I was also a secretary for a member of the Diet through an acquaintance, and also worked as a sales clerk in the electronics department of a major supermarket. I also enjoyed teaching at a junior high school, but gradually I began to think that I might be better suited to retail work. ......
I was then working part-time as a sales representative for a job information magazine, where I was thoroughly trained in everything from job setup to how to proceed with a job, and I realized how naive I was. Looking back on it now, I realize that it was all pretty obvious, but it changed my mindset about working as a member of society. It was thanks to this part-time job that I became interested in venture businesses and that I was able to overcome my extremely busy days after joining the company.
Undergraduate friends on the rooftop of the 55/58 building (Mr. Miyajima is on the far left in the photo slightly above the three people standing side by side).
If you keep working hard, you will see results.
Along with his part-time job, he also volunteered at a children's home for learning and recreation with students from other universities. Bic Camera not only manages the orphanage, but is also involved in supporting the independence of graduates through the "Bic Camera Scholarship Foundation," and my university experience has been useful in every aspect.
My experience in carpentry allowed me to build store fixtures and wiring without difficulty, and I feel that any experience can lead to life at unexpected times. Therefore, whether it is studying or working part-time, I would like all students to challenge themselves in various ways while in school, as I believe that nothing is ever wasted.
A former friend of mine once gave me a quote from the Chinese poet Tao Yuan Ming, which he loved very much: "Cultivate your strength and do not deceive yourself. I would like to give these words, which I love so much, to all of you who are graduating and going out into the world. If you decide to do this job, try to do it for three years. Do it earnestly and diligently. The results will surely come one day.
Even now that I am president, I still feel the same way as a salesperson
I became a president by accident, but my base was always an appliance salesman. Whether I become a store manager or a member of management, my greatest joy and satisfaction will always be in guiding customers to products that enrich their lives.
While most of the world's companies change managers after five years or so, as I enter my 15th year as president, I wonder if I will be able to stay on as president forever. On the other hand, there are things that take time to bear fruit, and I am working diligently to do what I can only do now.
Now that data on products and sales methods are provided to each store by the head office, there is less room for individual skill than in the past. However, the senses and ideas of young employees on the front line are still indispensable in order to encourage customers to visit stores. I would like to continue to pursue BIC Camera's policy of "being an advisor to customers" with them and take on new challenges in the future.
(First published in the March 2020 issue of Hosei, a public relations magazine)