SHIRO KONDO
President and CEO
Ricoh Co., Ltd.
Japan’s “power brands”—Toyota, Sony, Panasonic and others—have become household names because the big manufacturers focus on B2C business, selling goods to individual consumers around the globe. However, another big Japanese firm is attracting considerable attention these days, even though its main business is B2B.
Ricoh’s principal customers are corporations, the kind of clients that are less interested in big brand names and more interested in performance, reliability and service. This is the market where Ricoh has grown tremendously in just the past decade.
“Our sales have almost doubled and our profits roughly quadrupled in that time,” says Shiro Kondo, the company’s youthful, energetic CEO. “Last fiscal year, both our sales and profit figures recorded new highs. And,” he adds with a smile, “we’re just getting started.”
Kondo could also mention that Ricoh’s sales figures have risen for 13 years in a row, with its ROE hovering around 11%. What consumers are about to find out, investors have known for years.
For many years, the main pillar of Ricoh’s growth has been its popular line of reliable, high-performance office equipment—multifunction printers, fax machines and the like—and this is not about to change, according to Kondo.
What has changed is the company’s approach to its business.
“We know that great technology alone is not enough,” Kondo explains. “I always ask our staff, ‘What is our corporate DNA? Is it just good R&D? Or is it about using technology to create real customer value?’ We have to figure out what our customers want before they tell us… This is how we became a genuine solutions provider, and that has made all the difference.”
In addition, Ricoh is keen to prove itself in the consumer world, as part of its drive to enhance its brand globally. Judging by the success of the pro-spec GR Digital camera, the company is off to a very good start.
“What is our corporate DNA? Is it just good
R&D? Or is it about using technology
to create real value for customers?”
Kondo is also thinking strategically about future paradigm shifts. “Demand for traditional commercial printing is declining,” he notes. “In its place, we will see steady growth in on-demand printing; that is, corporate printing done in-house. Data security is also a growing concern for many companies.” In June 2007, Ricoh established a joint venture with IBM to service this expanding market. “We plan to be the #1 player in this field,” the CEO says confidently.
To support that growth process, Kondo is a strong proponent of corporate education for everyone from line workers to top managers. Everyone can benefit from further study, he believes, including the CEO. “There are so many things in business I wish I had studied. I particularly enjoy reading about how leading companies in the U.S. and Europe developed their own educational programs. I want to combine the very best ideas from overseas with my own views about how to build a culture of corporate excellence.”
Another key concern is the environment. Ricoh has long been a leading Japanese proponent of CSR (corporate social responsibility). The company supports a number of CSR-related initiatives, and environmental concerns in particular are a top priority for Kondo. “We who make technology must remain constantly aware of its impact on the world, both for good and bad. We therefore conduct our global operations from a sustainable management point of view.”
Ricoh is fast becoming one of Japan’s power brands. It is a unique company in some respects, and at its helm it is fortunate to have a strong, visionary CEO committed to serving his customers, his employees and the planet as a whole.
