Baron Adventures: Destination Singapore & More: Tokyo

In complete contrast to Vietnam, I had the opportunity to visit Tokyo in March. Japan is my most important market from a work standpoint as about 60% of the Johnson’s Body Care business is in Japan. I have been talking to my counterparts in Japan for 5 months and learning about Japan from reading research reports, but actually being there and experiencing this amazing country was completely different.

The first thing I did in Japan was to observe focus groups on body care habits of Japanese women. The content was interesting. I learned that there is so much pride in looking put together and like you “tried hard” (ganbaru) to maintain your appearance in Japan. The logistics were also interesting though- we had a translator who translated everything the participants said into a microphone, which we (the non-Japanese speakers) listened to via headset.

After the focus groups, I had my first experience with the Japanese retail environment. Nothing could have prepared me for the absolute chaos! About 80% of Japanese health and beauty sales are done in small drugstores that are jam packed with merchandise. The merchandise is mind boggling- Japan is one of the most developed health and beauty markets in the world and you would believe it just from one store visit. Categories that don’t exist in the US are huge in Japan- example: bath additives (i.e. little pouches of goodies for your bath are a $1 Billion business in Japan!), facial massage devices to tighten up your facial muscles, leg firming/slimming tights, and decorative wash cloths (which people carry instead of handkerchiefs to either blot away perspiration or use to cover their mouths- and of course they are also a fashion statement) just to name a few.

From a work standpoint, I had two main goals for the week- 1) to learn as much as I could about the business from the Japanese team, and 2) To conduct an ideation session among the Japanese team for new product ideas. I’ve conducted numerous ideation sessions in the States and I didn’t think it would be a big deal… stupid American assumption of the week! When will I learn?? In fact, the last words my Japanese cultural coach said to me before my trip to Japan was “a brainstorm session is a Japanese person’s worst nightmare.” Well, it was indeed a different challenge in Japan.

Things I learned the hard way: Once the most senior person has spoken, the other team members will not contribute…. Because the “answer” has been given. It’s a sign of respect to keep quiet and not contradict. Additionally, collaboration is at an utmost in Japan, so people don’t readily contribute independently, and if you force them to (common practice in the US) they can get quite uncomfortable. Lastly, in the US, it’s easy to facilitate group work by listening to what a group is talking about and asking questions or probing to keep the team moving… well, not quite as easy when the team is speaking in Japanese. So, it was definitely baptism by fire on my end… and there were several awkward moments when I thought that everyone in the room must have been thinking I was fully insane. Eventually my fellow-American colleague and I were able to loosen up the Japanese team and we ended up getting over 50 ideas for future products…. So it was a success, but more than the ideas, I was proud of myself for sticking with it and learning a ton in the process.

A few other thoughts on Japan:

Hospitality was amazing! My Japan team went out of their way to ensure that I was taken care of from the minute I arrived to the minute I left. They took me to great food, they helped me get a special souvenir for Avery (fake sushi of course!), they helped me procure diet coke when I started getting the shakes J, you name it, they went out of their way for me. I can assure you that next time I have foreign colleagues visiting me in the States (or Singapore), I will go out of my way for them as well- because truly, it’s amazing to feel well taken care of in a far away place.

Concern for Allergies: I noticed that many, many people were wearing surgical masks. When I asked my colleagues whether the people who wore the masks were sick or were they afraid of getting sick, they explained that the reason for the masks is actually hay fever/allergies. Put another way, people are very concerned about external pollutants and the masks prevent them.

Cleanliness is key: One of the reasons the body care category is so developed in Japan is because Japanese really like to be clean. But I was most amazed by the toilets in Japan. Truly, they are a modern marvel- they do just about everything you can imagine- even the public restrooms! From providing heat, to “flushing sounds” so you can do your business discretely, to of course the multiple washing functions. Quite impressive.

Yummy Yummy Food: I was actually a bit nervous about food in Japan, but it was delicious! Truly, every meal was delish- from conveyor belt sushi to our 7 course Ninja dinner (dressed up Ninjas served us!) to ramen that I ordered by making my selections from a vending machine, to Japanese pancakes, to our bento box lunches of bizarre, but yummy veggies.

So, overall thoughts- I really enjoyed Tokyo! I’d like to return again to experience more of the country beyond the food and the office so hopefully I’ll be able to head back before I leave.