We are redistributing an interview article with Morosawa Rino (諸沢 莉乃), who became president of CoCo Ichibanya at 22. It discusses how she rose from a part-time worker to become the head of a company with ¥2 billion in annual sales, as well as the reaction to and her thoughts on taking office.
Morosawa Rino (諸沢 莉乃), who grew up in Yokohama, became president of Sky Scraper, the company operating CoCo Ichibanya franchises, at 22. The appointment was announced in May, and the news of the business succession quickly attracted attention.
Morosawa Rino (諸沢 莉乃) began working part-time at CoCo Ichibanya at 15 and in 2021 earned the title of “Star”, a customer-service specialist recognised as the 16th person to receive the designation. She was approached about becoming president at around 20 and is said to have chosen the challenge despite having limited experience of the company and management.
The decision to appoint her president was not an off-the-cuff proposal. A press release demonstrating the seriousness of the succession used such wording as “astonishing business succession” and “the successor chosen was a 22-year-old freelancer”, and the matter was covered by economic newspapers. It introduced the view that expectations outweighed the pressure associated with taking office.
While some see her youth as a negative factor in this new challenge, Morosawa Rino (諸沢 莉乃) has reflected on how she believed in her own potential and accepted the opportunity to succeed to the business. Attention is focused on future developments and the reactions around her.