Abu Dhabi: “It’s not your background, or how much experience you have, but it’s all down to understanding and knowing what your consumers want, that will be the driving factor towards success,” said Toshifumi Suzuki, founder and CEO of 7-Eleven Japan Co., during a talk given at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi.
Speaking through a translator, the CEO of the global chain of convenience stores told the audience how he had never planned to go into the retail, nor did he have any experience or background in the sector. “After school and college I wasn’t thinking of starting in retail or to start a retail company, I was working in a publishing company, I then wanted to start my own business and was looking for sponsors. So my background was not in retail,” he said.
He said the most important factor was to know what consumers wanted. “Retail business is for consumers, so you don’t need much experience or background in retail. The key is to understand what consumers are thinking and what they are asking for. We didn’t have the experience, that’s one reason we could innovate and try something new and different rather than following the methods and practices of others. I was not trying to be the number one world retailer, but as a result of responding to what customers wanted, we could be innovative,” Suzuki said.
DUBAI OPENING
The 7-Eleven chain store is planning to open its first branch in Dubai this summer and Suzuki says he is confident of the chain’s chances of success in the UAE.
When asked what specific advice he would give to retailers in the UAE, Suzuki said sales data is important. “We look at sales data to determine how successful products are, and that allows us to grasp and understand the needs of the customers. We use this data for our marketing purposes,” he said.
He stressed on the importance of retailers to keep abreast with the rapidly changing needs of consumers, saying businesses needed to be original rather than trying to copy other models.
Suzuki said, the main competitor was the consumer. “Our main competitor is the customer. I don’t look at what other retail shops are doing. Just because you’re beating them doesn’t mean you will be successful in the long term. Our main challenge over the next years is [meeting] the changing needs of our consumers,” he pointed out.
— Sami Zaatari is a trainee at Gulf News
