WHY V-CUBE EXPANDED INTO ASIA

―What made you originally want to expand overseas? Your business field is rapidly growing in Japan as well, right?

It’s true that the Japanese market right now is rapidly expanding. It’s a promising market, according to a report by a research company, with the scale of the current market growing tenfold by 2020 to 100 billion yen. However, when looking globally, the scale of the American market is already 150 – 160 billion yen.

V-CUBE has been leading in Japan now for seven years straight. In order to continue having the number one share in Japan, we plan to continue working out various measures and improving the services we provide to our existing customers. Yet, the switching cost for services like the ones V-CUBE offers is high; it’s a field where early adopters easily see the benefits. The Japanese domestic market will continue to expand, but we can’t overlook the Asian market. If we can quickly enter the Asian market and establish a presence there, then if developing nations in Asia experience economic growth, we can ride that growth wave and maybe even become a match for America’s corporate giant Cisco Systems. That’s why we are expanding into Asia early.

―I see. So that’s why you expanded into developing Asian countries.

We expanded into Malaysia first in 2009, after which we moved into Thailand and Indonesia. Incidentally, many European and American companies are concentrated in Singapore, and they already use the services that their corporate headquarters in Europe and America use. They are using English to begin with, so we are forced to fight a tough battle. However, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia are still “blue oceans,” so there is huge potential. Conversely, I think companies like ours that come from Asia have the advantage. We provide services that we can do because we understand Asia.

―So, how do you conduct sales in developing Asian countries like Malaysia?

In Malaysia, for example, we would do normal telemarketing by calling local businesses and making an appointment. It’s the same as in Japan. We also enlist local sales distributors and sell through them.

―Why did you establish an intermediate holding company in Singapore?

You need a base that will serve as a hub when you expand into multiple Asian countries, so we chose Singapore, which is advantageous in terms of tax systems and having convenient access for other Asian countries. Another major reason was a personal appeal from the Singaporean government and the expansion support that we received from them.