Representative Director and CEO Message
Culture Convenience Club - An idea company
Hearing that "Culture Convenience Club is an idea company" may not strike a chord with many people. At all companies, people go through the process, submitting plans and ideas at meetings and so forth, because there probably aren't any companies that do not plan. So how is Culture Convenience Club different? For us, 'planning' takes on a different meaning. It refers to creating new mechanisms with the potential to cause revolutionary lifestyle changes. Presenting and proposing different lifestyle choices that anyone may apply, then building the infrastructure, platforms and services to accommodate such a lifestyle is our business, our 'idea'.
TSUTAYA - Our maiden effort
TSUTAYA was our first project, the launching pad for our 'idea'. Movies, music and books available for sale and rental all at one store. We nurtured this idea, this lifestyle recommendation into something that has grown to nationwide proportions that anyone may use. Of course, right now this idea has become natural, or even standard, but 30 years ago when our business was established, this idea was a breakthrough. Currently, the now natural existence of TSUTAYA provides a massive point of contact for Japanese people and entertainment. Today, there are vastly more people who watch movies on DVD than people who go to the cinema. Overall music sales (purchase of CDs together with music downloads) now outnumber the US, meaning Japan has the biggest music marketplace in the world.
The T Card Project
After TSUTAYA, our next venture was the 'T Card'. When I saw the number of point cards and credit cards stretching the seams of my wallet, I realized that a solution was necessary. "What if all these could be rolled into a single card, one that could be used anywhere, and could accumulate points at various stores?" That was the idea behind T Card. It has now been 10 years since the T Card's debut, and it can now be used to earn points at over 40,000 stores. T Card holders have grown to exceed 40 million, which means one in every three Japanese people have this card.
Only dreams can be realized
We feel that planning refers to identifying value that customers have yet to discover, then offering proposals and making these values reality. As these newly created concepts are bold and original, they can sometimes be difficult to understand when initially planned. They can sometimes exceed people's realms of understanding, but when developed, have the possibility to become standard in the future. Our job is to shape these ideas into reality, and gain support as these ideas grow. It is often a hard path, but what supports us in this process are dreams. This might be a romantic notion; however having such dreams provides us our drive, or our 'engine', leading us to the notion that 'Only dreams can be realized'.
Our promise and our gratitude
With our ideas, turning dreams into reality, the things we value most are promises and gratitude. These may sound like obvious morals; however achieving these is not a simple task. Making promises is easy; however fulfilling them can be difficult. The better the business is running, often the more that gratitude can be neglected. Of course, taking these for granted will cause a planning company to break down. The main reason is, as mentioned before, sometimes our plans exceed people's levels of understanding. To gain support for these ideas, it is not understanding we require, but trust. Culture Convenience Club is not just an organization aiming for profits, but a company placing emphasis on promises and gratitude, an organization of principles and ideals.
Muneaki Masuda
Representative Director
President
Chief Executive Officer
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.
