The Path to a New Satake: Transforming the Interior Industry, Aiming for the End User
Satake Co., Ltd.: Company Information
Satake Co., Ltd. Founded in 1955.
As a comprehensive trading company for interiors, we operate 8 sales offices throughout the Kanto region, including our Tokyo headquarters.
Based on requests from construction companies, general contractors, and interior finishing contractors, we primarily engage in the wholesale of all types of interior materials, such as wallpaper, flooring, window treatments, and housing equipment, which are incorporated at the design stage.
Established: March 1955
Sales: 3.94035 billion yen (as of December 2020)
Number of employees: 86 full-time employees (including 23 part-time/temporary staff)
Satake Co., Ltd.
Satake Co., Ltd. Founded in 1955
Satake is a comprehensive interior trading company with 8 sales offices throughout the Kanto region, including our Tokyo headquarters.
Based on requests from construction companies, general contractors, and interior finishing contractors, we primarily engage in the wholesale of all types of interior materials, such as wallpaper, flooring, window treatments, and housing equipment, which are incorporated at the design stage.
Our founding president, Mr. Nobutaka Satake, originally worked at another interior wholesale store.
Shortly after the end of World War II, he established Satake Shoten, the predecessor to the current Satake.
At that time, Japanese homes were primarily built using traditional elements like shoji screens and fusuma sliding doors.
In such an environment, the first thing Mr. Nobutaka Satake set his sights on was wallpaper—an unknown product not yet widespread in Japan.
However, wallpaper had only just arrived from overseas. As it was a completely new material in Japan at the time, there were no glues or tools available for installation.
Unlike today, where life is convenient and overflowing with goods, it was an era of creating things to enrich life while helping one another in the neighborhood.
Mr. Nobutaka Satake negotiated with various contractors to find construction methods that could be adapted, and by providing information to glue and tool manufacturers, he led the development of specialized glues and tools.
Mr. Nobutaka Satake's strategy proved successful, and Satake succeeded in becoming a pioneer in domestic wallpaper sales.
Satake has continued to evolve in line with the times.
We have increased our product offerings to include not only wallpaper but also flooring, fittings, plumbing, and equipment, solidifying our position as a comprehensive interior trading company.
In recent years, we have also been developing products for end users, working to meet the diversifying needs of our customers.
From Adversity to Opportunity
"The pioneering generation worked hard from the founding period to increase customers and suppliers, building Satake themselves. However, in recent years, due to established routes and stable supply, we have become a passive company that does not think or act proactively."
Executive Director Satake says that when he felt this way, the COVID-19 pandemic allowed the company to re-examine and visualize the issues it was facing, enabling a shared understanding among upper management and office staff.
Because the basic flow of business was route sales—receiving orders from the same construction shops and delivering products—the proposal-based sales and consciousness toward customer acquisition that existed at the time of founding had inevitably faded.
He also felt a strong sense of crisis that with the sudden arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, a stagnant market, and the prospect of even more intense competition with peers, the current structure would not be sustainable.
Executive Director Satake viewed the issues highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic as a golden opportunity for Satake's evolution.
"It is easy for anyone to understand that business performance will deteriorate in a state where economic activity is suppressed, and it is obvious that this will be used as an excuse. Rather than focusing on results, we will first focus on the process, and by repeating visualization and pursuit, we will improve our passive corporate culture."
The first thing he implemented was a monthly sales project that gave each sales office discretion over products, entry numbers, and period settings. By checking progress weekly, he pursued the understanding of needs and the planning ability of the sales offices.
He also aimed to shift from a passive culture of just waiting by thoroughly implementing the PDCA cycle using daily reports.
At the same time, by disclosing the performance and progress of each sales office company-wide, he promoted a change in consciousness regarding results.
Executive Director Satake's strategy was successful, and by the time six months had passed since the start of the sales project, we were able to achieve monthly sales five times higher than at the beginning.
The fact that the PDCA cycle began to take root as a basic concept and that we were in step with each other was one of the factors that allowed us to turn around sales, which had once been on a downward trend due to the influence of COVID-19, better than expected.
He began to feel a certain response that there was definitely room for growth in Satake's evolution.
However, what became apparent while pushing forward with cultural improvement was a new challenge.
"I felt the limits of handling organizational management, human resource development through training, and salary systems based on evaluation in-house," says Executive Director Satake.
Contract with FB Management
The trigger for learning about FB Management was an introduction from a financial institution.
Although business performance was on a recovery trend, Executive Director Satake felt that an external partner was needed to complement areas of weakness such as organizational management and personnel evaluation.
"Can FB Management build a strong relationship of trust with Satake and fight together? Are they worthy of trust?"
To determine this, Executive Director Satake himself held several discussions with the FB Management representative, visited the head office, and even requested a meeting with their president.
When teaming up as partners, Executive Director Satake emphasized two points.
Whether they would propose a mechanism for winning that is necessary in this day and age, tailored to our company's situation, and whether they had the strength to scrutinize and persuade widely and deeply against opposing opinions.
While hearing about FB Management from various perspectives, Executive Director Satake was able to feel their commitment as an external No. 2 and their stance of walking alongside the owner. He says his trust turned into something solid, leading to the signing of the contract this time.
"Satake has come this far thanks to our customers. For our customers' businesses to develop further, Satake must evolve. To that end, it is necessary for Satake to become more united and improve our consciousness."
To realize such strong thoughts of Executive Director Satake, FB Management began walking alongside Satake.
Environment, Consciousness, Action: Three Changes That Occurred at Satake
The first thing we tackled in organizational management was a reform of employees' consciousness toward numbers.
As a first step for all employees to engage in work as their own business and for them to create a new Satake, a new business development sales meeting with the addition of FB Management started.
In the challenge of new customer acquisition, we analyzed Satake employees who were achieving results, created a "New Business Development Manual" with a focus on high-ranking new customers, and proceeded with systematization to secure sales.
We also carried out the disclosure of sales to make the financial situation healthier based on general indicators, and the design and explanation of the accompanying evaluation/reward system and salary table.
Because business performance had been stable, Satake could not escape from the common sense of the industry.
However, by having the external FB Management join the meetings, points of view that employees had not noticed and improvement proposals were brought to the surface, and internal complacency was no longer acceptable.
Also, by incorporating the know-how and actions for new customer acquisition accumulated at FB Management, changes appeared in the performance that had varied by location.
People who act proactively and raise their voices to "let's evolve Satake" began to increase.
"With the entry of FB Management, employees were exposed in a good sense to a great pressure they had not been given before. While there is confusion among veteran employees, including the president, they agree that Satake should change. Although it has just begun, we must create an environment where people who make efforts can work easily by creating a mechanism where standards are set high and fairly evaluated."
Executive Director Satake says he wants to follow the Satake that our predecessors built once again and evolve it into something solid to pass on to the next generation.
Aiming for Improvement of Brand Value Beyond the Industry
With the reform of consciousness toward numbers, Satake has moved to the phase of evaluation system reform.
We will promote the creation of a mechanism where employee evaluation is not swayed by personal factors but is directly linked to work and results.
"In the future, we will also disclose achievable and dreamy annual sales targets, and I want employees to be able to get a sense of touch for their own work to realize those dreams. And I want them to be proud of having joined such a Satake," Executive Director Satake revealed his inner thoughts.
In addition, we have solidified our intention to further strengthen our existing EC business while differentiating products so that they will be seen by the eyes of general customers, not just the BtoB business that has been our main business since our founding.
"Social recognition will be necessary in the future, not just within the industry. I want general customers to know Satake as well. To that end, we must expand our reach outside the industry and constantly customize Satake."
In addition to the inkjet wallpaper "HalCos," which can be applied over existing wallpaper and peeled off, which we are currently selling to end users, our policy is to actively develop more original products than ever before.
"I believe that family businesses like ours have both 'strengths' and 'weaknesses' because of that. By collaborating with FB Management, I want to overcome our 'weaknesses,' which are slow and weak on our own, and make them strong in a short period of time. I believe there is potential demand for Satake to grow even further, so I look forward to support from knowledge that we do not have," said Executive Director Satake.
【Introduced Company】
Company Name: Satake Co., Ltd.
Representative: Nobuyuki Satake, President and Representative Director
Address: 3-7-5 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0021
Established: March 1955
Sales: 3.94035 billion yen (as of December 2020)
Number of employees: 86 full-time employees (including 23 part-time/temporary staff)
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