Kinoshita was born in Kobe in 1968. He first gained business experience during university and worked at Recruit Co., Ltd. after graduation. After a failed attempt to start his own business, he earned a living at part-time jobs. While he was broke and aimless, he swore, “I will start a business focused on customer satisfaction” and “I’ll start a truly Japanese company.” After running an exhaustive investigation to ensure the success of the business, he determined Hokkaido to be the location with the most potential and moved to the island. He founded his business with no connections or roots, and expanded it all the way to listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, all during the first president’s generation. Yet, despite all of these achievements, employees have enormous faith in him, saying “One of this company’s strengths is the president’s approachability!”
■Publications
・The Golden Rule of Minimizing Revenue and Maximizing Profit –Management Secrets to a 29% Profit Margin (2021, DIAMOND, INC. )
・FUNDAMENTALS X TECHNICAL MARKETING ─83 ways to Maximize the Results of Web Marketing (2022, Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, Ltd. )
・The Law of Time Minimization, Result Maximization ─”A Capable Person’s Thinking Algorithm,” Installing One Story a Day（2022, DIAMOND, INC. )
・Team Transformation (Team X): See the story of how to create a team that improved its performance by 13 times in one year（2023, DIAMOND, INC. )
■Awards Received
・Eight-time Recipient of the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon (*1) from the Japanese government
・Top ranked company president by share price percentage increase during time in office (Nikkei Veritas, October 25, 2020)
・Placed No. 1 in the Ranking of Corporate Managers Highly Regarded by the Market (TOYO KEIZAI ONLINE 2019)
・“Special E-Commerce Promotion Award” Recipient at Japan Venture Awards 2017 (*2)
・Japanese Representative Candidate Finalist for EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 Japan
(*1) A medal awarded by the Japanese government to individuals, corporations or organizations for their donation of private properties and outstanding achievements in the public interest
(*2) A system of commendation for ambitious start-up owners whose businesses show innovation and high growth potential, and contribute to the revitalization of the region
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Our company got its start in Hokkaido, but I, the founder, was born and raised in Kansai.
After an exhaustive search for the place in Japan with the best opportunities for founding a business, I determined that Hokkaido the best bet and, despite having no connection with it all, I moved there.
What convinced me it was best was the fact that Hokkaido has the richest natural resources in Japan, yet they aren’t fully utilized.
In Hokkaido, we have crabs, sea urchins, salmon roe, melon, corn, ramen, Jingisukan Muttons, potato, scallops, cod roe, asparagus, cheese, milk, ham, chocolate cream, soba, lavender, sunflowers and more specialty products that the other 46 prefectures put together cannot match, meaning it’s overflowing with ingredients.
The nature and scenery are beautiful as well, and it’s so popular overseas that it’s known as the Switzerland of Asia.
The rent is also cheap, and the people are quite diligent.