KIH
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Part 3 - Interview with MINASE Brand CEO and in-house movement
Interview with the Brand CEO of MINASE, Mr. Tsuyoshi Suzuki.
KIH: Would you tell us more about yourself?
Tsuyoshi Suzuki ("TS"): After college, I worked for an office equipment wholesale company, sales division. At that time, Kyowa was not in such a good shape (after bubble) and I didn't even dream about joining or being told by my father to join Kyowa. But as the time goes by, Kyowa came back strong and I was told to come back in 1998. I was first assigned to the IT (beginning of the "intranet" era back then), and then was assigned to the Watch business.
Having worked for the bigger company, I felt such a burden of big responsibility in a small company like Kyowa as I have to be able to do many things, but gradually it became fun to work for Kyowa, e.g. seeing watches I sold displayed on the floor of the department stores and boutiques/ shops of the OEM clients. Thankfully, our watch business is doing quite well - but majority is from OEM business and our own brand watches is still minority.
But the more OEM watches sell and better known, the more OEM needs inquiry comes in (like from major Apparel brands) and the more MINASE brand exposure increases. Good cycle.
KIH: I understand and saw the prototype of your in-house movement. The finishing is superb, just like your case making. When are you planning to launch it?
TS: Our aim is to be 100% in-house manufacture. We are planning to launch it in probably our VY05 of HiZ Series in June next year (2015), although which model to put it in is not final. The prototype will still be improved in all aspects.
KIH: I also understand that your customers are not happy enough with using "purchased" movements in such very time consuming, well made cases. And of course you are planning to make everything from A to Z in-house. When do you think you will be in such a position?
TS: That is another reason why we know we have to be 100% in-house manufacture. We started making our own brand watches in 2005, next year (2015) will be the 10th anniversary. And I hope we be such a "manufacture" who makes from the tiny screws to the hair springs by 2025. We have tools, skill set, and supporting people from outside as well, but it will take time while that goal will not change.
KIH: I see you are wearing one of HiZ series, but with power reserve meter and it is not on the catalog.
TS: Oh, this is VY01 - made only 30, immediately sold out. We just happened to source 40 ETA2897 and decided to make LE of 30. It was in 2011.
KIH: Are you satisfied with the status quo - watch business doing quite well - or do you think there is room for improvement in efficiency, cost structure, sales effort, etc?
TS: Quite honestly, I believe we could do better, much better. We can improve our process and efficiency. Watch has many parts and if we make more parts by ourselves, we could do much better. Managing the supplier is sometimes a headache - whether they keep the deadline, etc. So, from that stand point, too, we would really like to become the all in-house manufacture one day.
KIH: What do you think you should do about the Brand and branding?
TS: That is exactly what I am learning together with PR firm and other specialists. Only thing I have in mind is that we have to be the brand with firm philosophy and story which are not easily shaken.
KIH: What type of brand do you want to aim to be:
TS: In one word, "Handsome". Not just design but as a whole, including philosophy, how we make watches, our philosophy, history, and everything, we want to be considered "Handsome" brand. Another example is that we don't want to tell the customers "we keep our parts for XX years and after that we cannot service your watches" but we want to say as our motto "we will service or repair your watches forever - surely it will take time and cost, but it is our commitment to our clients", and THAT is also the "Handsome" brand we want to aim for. We don't want to treat our products as just some industrial products, but something with special meaning or attachment to each owner, and that is the watch brand we want to become. We want to show the world another "100% made in Japan" watches some day because we can.
KIH: Thank you very much for your time, hospitality and showing us everything. We learned a lot about you on this trip. It was fun and best wishes for your bright future. We want to follow your progress.
TS: Thank you for visiting us. Please come back anytime.
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That's it, folks!
Special thanks to:
Mr. Tsuyoshi Suzuki, Brand CEO, MINASE (Kyowa Precision)
Mr. Kouichi Takahashi, Factory Head of Minase Factory
Mr. Katsuo Kurosawa, Head of Production Department, Minase Factory
Mr. Hironari Miki, Sales Department, MINASE
... and all the people at MINASE factory.
End
Thank you for reading.
Ken
This message has been edited by KIH on 2014-04-15 09:17:04
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Part 3 - Interview with MINASE Brand CEO and in-house movement
Interview with the Brand CEO of MINASE, Mr. Tsuyoshi Suzuki. KIH: Would you tell us more about yourself? Tsuyoshi Suzuki ("TS"): After college, I worked for an office equipment wholesale company, sales division. At that time, Kyowa was not in such a good ...
There is heart...
The HiZ model is by far the more unique model and the one that represents MINASE. The round model does appear to need a little more work with the design (the design is a little bland for me). It'd be interesting to see how this company evolves in the comi...
It's not often that a completely new manufacturer . . .
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With the time and effort they pour into each...
.. the price is very reasonable, I say, while the price range is about the same or less than GS. And, yes, the new in-house movement will be hand winding with nice finishing on the bridges and such :-) Interesting experience to be shown everything :-) Tha...
Japan technology
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Great Write-up, Ken
And nice pics... Very interesting company Do they exhibit at Basel ? (Sorry if you mentioned this point in your write-up)
Why can't Seiko demonstrate a similar creativity and phantasy ...
... when designing their high quality watches? A Grand Seiko movement in a Minase outfit - this would indeed be a magnificent watch! Thank you, Ken, for permitting us to discover this unknown, but fascinating facet of the Japanese watch industry. Marcus
Good point....
Let's see how the new in-house movement of MINASE will be like. I am very hopeful, though. Thanks! Ken
Let's see....
.. how MINASE will do with its own in-house movement and the new model first. Thanks, Ronald! Ken
Fantastic report Ken!
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Thanks, Don!
For the moment, MINASE does not have any foreign outlet - they are about to go out. Be patient! Hope they go to Basel next year.... I will keep you updated! Thanks! Ken
Arigatou gozaimasu: It's about kokorou
Dear Ken Thank you for bringing this news. The key here is 心（こころ）kokorou. It looks like Minase Watch has the 'heart' to continuously improve for their customers. Regards, MTF
Yes, sir, exactly...
.. this is like SEIKO with lots of heart poured into it.... Let's keep an eye on this as this brand spread to the world! Ken
Great report
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Very informative postings...Thank you!
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