King Jim is known for its creative products such as the label writer “Tepla”, the digital memo “Pomera”, and the alcohol dispenser “Tette”, which became a big hit during the coronavirus pandemic. The group has expanded its product categories through M&A, and the group handles a wide variety of products, including cooking appliances, assembleable furniture, artificial flowers, and gloves. Their exquisite SNS marketing has also been successful, with the official X (formerly Twitter) account having over 450,000 followers.
In the past, the mainstay of King Jim’s business was King File, which bound and stored paper documents. As paperless society progresses, the demand for King Files is steadily shrinking. If we had not continued to diversify by clinging to this mainstay, we would not have developed as we have now.
Why did King Jim succeed in diversifying? And have they been able to release timely hits like “Tete,” which has been used by many people during the coronavirus pandemic? The secret was revealed directly to President Miyamoto.
I launched a new business when my “main job” was at its peak.
-In 1988, when the flagship product “King File” was at its peak, President Miyamoto established the next pillar, “Tepla.”
MiyamotoJapan
‘s first word processor appeared in 1978, and in the 1980s it began to spread to offices. There is no doubt that in the future, documents will be digitized and paper consumption will decrease, and the term “paperless” has begun to be used. As paperless society progresses, the demand for King Files will decrease, leading to an existential crisis.
However, the reality was far from paperless. Since the 1980s, the use of paper has rapidly increased due to the spread of electronic devices such as copiers and printers, and the demand for filing has continued to grow. The creation of Tepla in such a situation led to the current King Jim.
–The management team made a wise decision to develop a new business.
Miyamoto:
It’s not that simple. A small company like King Jim has limited management resources, so the executives at the time agreed that they should focus on their filing products, which were their strengths. Even though its larger rivals are getting serious about filing products, they don’t have the luxury of allocating staff or budget to developing a new business with no prospect of profitability.
However, some of the younger employees, including myself, did not think so. In 1985, I started a team called “E Project” with other employees who had the same aspirations, and we began preparations to develop electronic products.
The E project was looking to the future. At the moment, thanks to electronic devices, the number of paper documents being printed out has increased rapidly, but this is happening because we are in a transitional period. He knew that he would definitely become an enemy in the future. King File was the pillar that supported the entire company, so I thought it would be a disaster if demand started to decline.
–The green light has been given for the development of “Tepra”.
It was a big investment for our company at the time in
Miyamoto
, but in the end we were given the go-ahead to build a second pillar. Business performance was strong, and in 1988 King Jim was generating an annual profit of 1 billion yen. If Tepra were to fail, there was a risk of losses of up to 500 million yen, but even if it were to fail, the company would not be in jeopardy. In the end, the president at the time (Kozo Miyamoto) gave the OK, out of respect for the motivation of the young employees who will support King Gym’s future. I think we had no choice but to give the go-ahead because our enthusiasm was so great.
Hit products change the atmosphere within the company
-It became a big hit as soon as it was released, and due to the high unit price (compared to file products), it became the second pillar of sales, accounting for half of sales at the time. How has the company changed?
Immediately after
Miyamoto’s
release, there was no atmosphere in which employees in the sales department would sell Tepra. King Jim doesn’t have the budget to run TV commercials, so they have to reach out to dealers and other business partners to woo them. Building reputation through word of mouth is King Jim’s lifeline. However, the ace sales veteran who was highly trusted by client companies did not pay any attention to Tepra.
It would have been difficult if things had continued like this, but the young employees enthusiastically promoted Tepra to the customers they were in charge of in an effort to increase sales as much as possible. As the number of stores that carry the product increases, the performance of young employees improves. After half a year, thanks in part to Tepra’s high unit price, we were able to surpass the veterans in terms of monthly sales.
When this happened, the veteran sales staff suddenly changed their mind and started selling Tepra. After all, we receive complaints from business partners asking, “Why don’t you bring Tepra to my house?” so we have no choice but to deal with it. Tepra quickly changed the atmosphere within the company.
“Tete” wasn’t something I aimed for.
–During the coronavirus pandemic, we quickly identified the needs of the market and launched “Tette.”
Miyamoto
: It would be a beautiful story if that were the case, but it is not. Actually, Tette was released in February 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic. It was sold as a product to prevent influenza. However, it doesn’t sell. Just when we were planning to stop selling, the coronavirus pandemic suddenly started selling.
At first, Tette was the only product that sprayed alcohol without touching it at all. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the importance of disinfecting without touching the hands has increased, and it has become a huge hit. We had plenty of inventory, so we were able to respond quickly.
Setting the sensor and controlling the amount of alcohol sprayed are difficult. Many of the products of other companies that were developed in a hurry were not good enough, but Tette’s reputation was high.
–Although it was aimed at influenza, Tette would not have become a hit without a strong belief that “this is what the world needs in the future” and an organization that could make that a reality.
Miyamoto:
That’s what it is. I can’t predict what will be a hit. Therefore, if you narrow down the product category with the aim of immediately improving efficiency, you will miss the chance to become a hit. If you narrow it down, many ideas will be shelved and your employees will be bored. In order to be able to work with excitement, it is important to release many products.
Continue to the second part
The hit vein discovered by King Jim with “Pomera”