executive impact

From adidas to author: What it takes to succeed in Japan

5 Comments
By Chris Betros

Author, advisor and investor Jonathan M Hewitt is often in demand in Tokyo as a guest speaker at various events. One of the topics the affable Briton is most frequently asked to talk about is how he helped found adidas Japan back in 1998 and turn it into a billion-dollar business.

Among his other achievements, Hewitt delisted Salomon TaylorMade Japan (a group company), setting the Japan record, left adidas for a while and worked for Coach Japan, and then went back to adidas. Since leaving adidas early last year, he has started his own business, advises a number of companies, published two books (with a third on the way), speaks at corporate events, writes a blog about Japan and is helping an audio start-up get on their feet plus looking at bringing an apparel brand into Japan.

Japan Today editor Chris Betros catches up with Hewitt to find out how he manages to do it all.

When did you first come to Japan?

In 1991. I was working for KPMG in London and there was an opportunity in Osaka. It was a two-year contract and I have been here ever since. After KPMG, I worked for Peugot and after a couple of years, I met Christophe Bezu, who was about to start adidas Japan and so I came on board as one of the founders. You don’t really get chances like that too often, so I jumped at it. I was vice president and COO; at various times, my role oversaw all areas of retail, finance, operations and e-commerce.

What was it like at the beginning?

We were taking over from the distributor that had been running the brand in Japan for 25 years. There were five of us in a serviced office in Shinjuku. Our finance department was a cash tin on the desk. Now there are 1,500 people across Japan.

What was the key to turning adidas Japan into a success story?

I think adidas is a very good example of how to blend a foreign brand into Japan. It is now the dominant sports brand in the market here and it really came about by focusing on what Japanese consumers wanted, getting the right products and quality and building relationships. For the first several years, we were a wholesale brand and our relationships with accounts were absolutely critical. Christophe realized that what we needed to do was get the JFA (Japan Football Association) on our side. He focused on doing that. He persuaded them not through money but spoke about what we could do to expand the popularity of the sport in Japan, and what we could do for kids. That’s exactly what they wanted to hear. They became partners with adidas and that was a key strategic move.

At that time, all the retailers were looking at us as a foreign start-up brand that might be gone in a couple of years. But when the JFA came on board, they thought that if the JFA were talking with us, then maybe they should as well. So we built on those relationships as well and the business grew and grew.

But you moved on.

I left adidas for a little while because there was too much travelling and I was spending too much time out of the country away from my family. So I went to Coach where I was executive vice president and it was a great learning curve for me. Later on, I met Christophe again and he told me there was a job back at adidas for me with no travelling, if I wanted it. So I went back.

How come you left adidas last year?

I thought if I was ever going to do my own thing, now was the time to do it. Obviously, it was a risk. But I walked into it with my eyes wide open. The advising side, I stumbled into. People just started asking me if I could help out with various issues. I hadn’t been planning to go down this route.

Do you get people calling you up out of the blue, asking for advice?

I do and it’s been happening more and more. Some are just referrals and just want to understand the market or have a specific issue they want to discuss.

When you’re invited to be a guest speaker at corporate events, what do you talk about?

The main topic people are interested in hearing is how we built the adidas Japan business, the story behind that. Having lived it, I didn’t realize how interesting that is to other people. I also speak on extreme crisis management, drawing from my experiences with the Kobe earthquake in 1995 and the March 11, 2011 disaster.

Do you think the adidas business model can work with other companies?

Yes, I do. It comes down to having the right product for the consumer. You can’t bring a global product into Japan and just assume it will be successful here. If you’re going through wholesalers, then you have to build relationships. It’s not rocket science. But you do have to take a leap of faith.

Most important is that you have to have a presence on the ground and have control of your brand. You need to ensure the Japanese consumer is confident that you are not going to disappear. That means you have to invest. You can’t start from overseas and hope it works. In the early adidas days, the first year was just investment. The second year we made a profit and recovered the funds we invested.

What mistakes have you seen foreign companies make?

The typical mistake I have seen is that they just haven’t got the product right. I can think of two British examples – Boots which got their retail method for Japan horribly wrong and French Connection which couldn’t get their product right. Carrefour is another example -- they alienated the distribution network and their merchandising wasn’t up to scratch.

Do foreign companies need a Japanese partner?

In most cases, I’d say no, unless it is a regulatory requirement. Many companies think they do but that is a kind of fear of the dark. As I said before, what you need is a team on the ground that understands Japan and the country you are coming from. This is what we did right with adidas. Christophe had been in Japan for eight years and I also for eight years. We could actually see all the issues and explain it to adidas.

What are you currently working on?

I am working on an audio start-up business which has the opportunity to be really successful. It’s early days. There is also a U.S. apparel brand that is already available in Japan through catalogues. A group of people think there is a great niche in the Japanese market and have asked me to help them put a proposal together.

How many books have you written?

My third book has just come out. It’s titled “The Expat’s Guide to Japan.” The first was “The Beginner’s Guide to Japan” and the second was “Fifty Six Days – An Earthquake in Japan,” about the March 11, 2011 disaster. I spent about a year writing them.

Are you optimistic about the Japanese economy?

Looking at it from a tech point of view, there are a lot of very good Japanese software developers but they are totally focused on the Japanese market and are working in a rigid Japanese corporate setting which is telling them precisely what they need to do. I wish Japan would look more outward and focus on the rest of the world.

For example, Sony has great technology but is producing things that people do not want. Ten years ago, my whole house was wired with Sony products. These days, it is wired with Apple products. Whereas Apple has moved on, Sony hasn’t. Japanese companies are not taking on the competition and it is not driving their creativity. Japan could be absolutely awesome, especially if they could get the English levels up.

What do you do in your spare time?

I have a place in Karuizawa where I can sit on the balcony, read a book and relax.

Read Jonathan’s blog at thebeginnersguidetojapan.blogspot.jp

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


5 Comments
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how he helped found adidas Japan back in 1998 and turn it into a billion-dollar business.

This is a little mis-leading. As the article states, adidas had been selling in Japan for over 25 years through a distributor. So while it is technically correct that they started adidas Japan as a stand-alone corporate entity, the brand itself was well established and had many retail outlets/relationships on which to build. So lets not break our arm patting ourselves on the back.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

@jerseyboy

So lets not break our arm patting ourselves on the back.

Well, I agree but did you expect a humble retrospective when you saw the accompanying photo? I didn't think so...

I think that intense glare with arms crossed pose really went out of style in the 1980s. A headshot with a nice polite and mild smile would exude much more trustworthiness and genuine inner confidence. I'm sure Jonathan is a great guy and very successful but the aggresive overconfidence in the photo really makes me question the credibility of the acheivements in the article. He should get a new photographer.

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@jerseyboy

lets not break our arm patting ourselves on the back.

I basically agree. I get the impression that Mr. Hewitt, one of the founders of adidas Japan, might be slightly overconfident. I think its somewhat belittling to say that Japanese retailers were not yet worldly enough in the 90s to appreciate that adidas was, and had been for decades, a global brand that would not exactly disappear overnight. I think it was safe to assume it would remain in some form whether directly or through a distributor. A company also usually decides to invest in taking over from a distributor precisely because the distributor is doing extremely well.

It's also unrealistic for the majority of non-apparel companies to move into Japan without a partner/distributor. It's an issue of investment rather than fear of the unknown for most companies. Look at food brands like Del Monte & Kikkoman working together. It's a bit easier to rent a warehouse and fill it with sneakers or handbags than build a production line for tomato sauce. Smaller companies also can't afford to hire a team of experienced western consultants who have been living in Japan for years. I think distributors have a role to play even if they put management consultants out of work.

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What it takes to succeed in Japan?

Don't be a woman.

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Actually, M3 and Jerseyboy, I've been in Japan off and on since university 2 decades back and can say what Jonathan and that team was indeed remarkable, drastically shifting the corporate culture in Tokyo, and making the brand what it is today in Japan. EPK

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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