The Ebinuma Story: Toshio Ebinuma and the Back of the Showa Era 11

Episode 13

The Giant Called Fuji Xerox

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─ The Showa OA Revolution, and What Lay Beyond

The 1970s. Japan's offices were facing a major turning point.

With the expiration of the patents for the xerography technology created by Fuji Xerox, many manufacturers—including Ricoh, Canon, Konishiroku (now Konica Minolta), Mita Industrial, Sharp, and Toshiba—entered the plain-paper copier market all at once.

This was the dawn of the so-called "OA (Office Automation)" era.

Copiers were at the heart of it.

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At the time, Fuji Xerox held an overwhelming presence in Kasumigaseki and among large corporations.

There were not a few people who would say,

"Go get a Xerox"

instead of "make a copy."

That is how much the name "Xerox" had become synonymous with copying itself.

However, at the same time, there was another massive market in Japan.

Small and medium-sized enterprises.

The wave of office automation also surged into this market, which accounted for the overwhelming majority of business establishments, leading each manufacturer to engage in fierce competition.

It was truly a period of warring states.

It was the Sengoku period of the copier industry.

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As mentioned in the previous chapter, Ebinuma initially had strong ties with Ricoh.

Later, their handling of Canon products grew dramatically, and they became a dealer selling both Ricoh and Canon products, which was rare at the time.

To expand their sales networks, manufacturers developed distribution channels such as primary dealers, agencies, and retailers, strengthening their own respective chains.

Retailers displaying manufacturer signs appeared one after another in the streets.

However, Ebinuma was different.

President Toshio Ebinuma disliked the idea of becoming a company with a strong manufacturer identity.

He would not display manufacturer signs at the store or the company.

Ebinuma would face the local customers as Ebinuma.

That was President Ebinuma's style.

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There is an event that symbolizes that stance.

I believe it was New Year's in the mid-1980s.

A sales representative from Canon Sales and his supervisor came to the office for New Year's greetings.

After finishing their greetings, they read a message for their agencies, and at the end, they even began to chant something—perhaps a company song or a company motto.

Watching this, President Ebinuma said calmly,

"That's enough."

Later, the president told me about that time.

"I don't like that atmosphere where the manufacturer stands above the distribution channel."

Manufacturers are important business partners.

However, it is Ebinuma that faces the customers.

We do not borrow the credit of the manufacturer.

We do business on Ebinuma's own credit.

That was the merchant known as Toshio Ebinuma.

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That way of thinking was also reflected in how he built the company.

Ebinuma established its own maintenance department called CTS (Copy Technical Service) early on, building a system where they handled not only sales but also maintenance, repairs, and the supply of consumables in-house.

Ricoh.

Canon.

Sharp.

Mita Industrial.

Even if the manufacturer was different, the point of contact for the customer was Ebinuma.

For President Ebinuma, who advocated for being deeply rooted in the community, that was a non-negotiable idea.

By the 1980s, they were maintaining about 1,000 copiers, supporting not only private companies but also local metropolitan high schools, the Sumida Ward Office, and its branch offices.

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Around that time, a new encounter occurred.

Fuji Xerox Office Supply.

Commonly known as "Efcos."

It was a Fuji Xerox group company that handled copy paper, fax paper, OHP film, and the like.

Around the same time, interaction with Tokyo Xerox, a sales company, also began.

They became a "specialty dealer" for both companies,

and from here, the relationship between Ebinuma and the Fuji Xerox Group began to move little by little.

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Actually, Fuji Xerox had its own circumstances at this time.

Despite being the originator of the copier, they were lagging behind Ricoh and Canon in the small-to-medium machine market, and they were no longer able to reach small and medium-sized enterprises nationwide through direct sales alone.

So, Fuji Xerox launched a new strategy.

They teamed up with companies representing each region and established sales companies in various locations.

In Tokyo, "Tokyo Xerox" was formed with Fuji Xerox and Kodansha as shareholders.

Fuji Xerox sales companies were like this—

Suntory in Osaka.

Kikkoman in Chiba.

Suzuyo in Shizuoka.

Kamei in Miyagi.

Ito-gumi Construction in Hokkaido.

All of them were companies that represented their respective regions.

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Why did such a Fuji Xerox Group take an interest in Ebinuma?

Looking back now, it is not a mystery.

They had little manufacturer color, did not rely on brands or signs, and competed in their own business territory.

And, rather than a relationship of manufacturer and dealer, they had the idea of supporting local customers together.

They were knowledgeable about the office equipment and stationery industry as a whole, and possessed intellectual logic...

Such a merchant was in Sumida.

That was Toshio Ebinuma.

From people related to Xerox,

"That man is amazing."

"There are few people like that in the office equipment industry."

"We want to learn from that sensibility."

I heard such words not just once or twice.

President Ebinuma had a mysterious power to attract people.

You would understand if you met him.

You would be drawn in if you talked to him.

And the deeper the relationship, the more you would be captivated by his personality.

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Mr. Ueno, who was the Tokyo Branch Manager of Fuji Xerox Office Supply, said something like this.

He said that President Ebinuma had said this:

"Don't look at us; I want you to look at the customers together with us."

And he continued further,

"Please don't make Ebinuma a customer. Let's work together as partners."
I think these words best describe the merchant known as Toshio Ebinuma.

Manufacturer and dealer.

Seller and buyer.

It was not that kind of hierarchical relationship.

He wanted to be a colleague who shares wisdom and creates value for the same customer.

That was the kind of relationship President Ebinuma was seeking.

Perhaps that is why the people at the Fuji Xerox Group were also drawn to the figure of the first-class merchant that was Toshio Ebinuma.

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Eventually, Fuji Xerox and Ebinuma became deep business partners.

They became a specialty dealer for Tokyo Xerox and a specialty dealer for Fuji Xerox Office Supply.
However, it was not simply a matter of switching from Ricoh or Canon.

It was about having a new weapon to head toward a new market, rather than fighting over existing customers.

Then, a Xerox sales team centered on young sales staff was formed, and Mr. Adachi from Tokyo Xerox came to Ebinuma as a mentor.

From here, Ebinuma would encounter the "Xerox style" of sales.

And

The time is the end of the 1980s...

"Showa" comes to an end

That story will be continued next time──.

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