In an interview, Chair Tashiro Masami (田代正美) of VALOR HOLDINGS CO.,LTD. expressed his desire to remain chair until age 90 and continue making “discoveries,” and said the company aims to reach ¥1 trillion from the supermarket business alone. He also outlined plans to expand stores in urban areas and strengthen in-house logistics.
In an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, Chair Tashiro Masami (田代正美) of VALOR HOLDINGS CO.,LTD., who is currently 79, expressed his desire to remain chair until age 90. As a path toward targeting ¥1 trillion for the group as a whole, he announced a policy of reaching ¥1 trillion from the supermarket business alone. He said that continuing to make discoveries would be a key driver of future growth.
He discussed what he learned from experiences related to the founder's ambitions and from the culture shock he experienced while visiting stores in Gifu Prefecture, and described bringing logistics centers in-house as the starting point for growth. A distribution center was established in Tajimi in 1989. Although it initially incurred losses, it was later strengthened to the point where half of the company's profits were generated by the center.
Believing that mergers and acquisitions are essential for business growth, he discussed strategies including the 2005 acquisition of TACHIYA. While emphasizing the importance of incorporating the strengths of acquired businesses without imposing the company's own culture too heavily, he took a strict stance on misrepresenting production areas or prices and stressed the importance of discoveries made at the operating sites.
Going forward, he plans to focus on opening stores in densely populated urban areas, while developing stores suited to the shape of each site and optimizing logistics. He indicated a policy of visiting operating sites, identifying improvements to the sales floor himself, and promoting in-house training. He expressed his intention to continue taking on challenges until he reaches age 90 in 11 years.