I think that describes conglomerates generally (e.g. Disney, Dell, and Doritos all have extremely diverse product lines), but the interesting thing about BigCo Japan from the US perspective is that firms have diverse ecosystems around them in a way that US companies don't.
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Replying to @patio11 @prestonattebery
For example, I get my life insurance from Sony. Why do I get my life insurance from Sony? Because Sony woke up one morning with 100k+ healthy employees and said "This is silly; why are we leaking so much margin when we could just be our own risk pool."
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Replying to @patio11 @prestonattebery
And then, after they had built an insurance company as a fun side project (as one does, when one is a Japanese megacorp), well it is just *silly* not to sell its products to the rest of the world.
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Replying to @patio11
That is so interesting! Why then do they choose to only localize the products/services in Japan?
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Replying to @prestonattebery
For insurance specifically? Heavily regulated, Japan's a plenty attractive market, no reason to cause politically powerful interests overseas to react negatively against Sony in service of a tiny portion of their business interests.
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Replying to @patio11
Ah! Why do you think Japan co's decide to build these types of side-business where in America, Coca-Cola, IBM, could but don't?
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Replying to @prestonattebery
A bit of empire building, a bit of corporate culture, a bit of structural issues internal to firms (insurance legendarily exists as a way for outgoing local management to monetize their social capital by selling insurance to their previous reports/offices), a bit regulatory, etc.
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Replying to @patio11 @prestonattebery
One example for you is banking. If Google were a Japanese company, Google would *absolutely* own a bank by now. I predict with relatively high degree of confidence that every time Google has that discussion somebody says "Become a bank holding company OH HELL NO."
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Replying to @patio11
Do you think American co's are more obsessed with dominating the market of their core products where as Japanese co's are more obsessed with broadening their product line into other verticals?
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Replying to @prestonattebery
I think it's more useful to think less in terms of strategic obsession, which is something that I would credit neither large US nor large Japanese firms with as a class, and ask you to instead consider what you do with a class of 45 year old VPs which is surplus to requirements.
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In the US, the ones who don't move lateral/move up at peer firms. In Japan, since that is far less an option, the company could stand-up a firm in the ecosystem and then ensure its culture/etc is amenable to the mothership by staffing it with 15 people they have no spots for.
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Replying to @patio11
Okay, follow-up: Suntory makes some of the most popular and sought-after whiskey in the world, yet they also make cheap soda served from vending machines. Why aren’t they worried about tarnishing their high-end whiskey brand with cheap soda?
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Replying to @prestonattebery
I would predict that Suntory would, at higher levels of the corporation, aspire to own beverages rather than own whiskey specifically, and if you asked the whiskey folks, they would tell you that their brand positioning in whiskey is unassailable because theirs is simply best.
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