KOKUYO began over a hundred years ago as a producer of book covers for wacho, shopkeeper’s books widely used in Japan before the Second World War. The Company later expanded its operations to encompass products such as stationery and furniture, and services such as store and office design and installation, logistics and personnel services. All of these products and services play a vital role in fulfilling the needs of homes, schools, and offices.

In 2004, KOKUYO was reorganized to create the KOKUYO Group, separating its various operations into distinct corporations. We are confident that this move will enable KOKUYO to respond more rapidly to society’s changing needs.

KOKUYO’s corporate philosophy has always been “Contributing to society by providing superior products.” As soon as a product or service is delivered to a customer, the seed of dissatisfaction is planted, as the customer thinks, “This product/service could be better.” Since its inception, KOKUYO has worked hard to turn those germinating seeds of dissatisfaction into satisfaction, one issue at a time. Most of our products and services were developed in just this way. Precisely because so many of our products and services are found in virtually every home and office, in other words, taken for granted, KOKUYO knows that we can only gain customer satisfaction and trust by identifying and anticipating dissatisfaction to offer more efficient and convenient solutions.

In 2005, KOKUYO decided to project the brand message of “Inspiration, Efficiency and Comfort.” While providing the customer with excellent products and services is certainly one of the peaks we aim to scale, it is not the final goal. If we have 100 customers, we want to provide each one with products and services that provide inspiration, efficiency and comfort as that customer understands these terms. Having climbed one mountain, we listen to customers for guidance on how we can scale the next, more challenging peak. The key to facing this challenge on a daily basis is to listen carefully to customers. If we suspect that customers are dissatisfied, we do not simply ask about the problem, but also interact with customers, teasing out their hopes and desires, so we can consider them carefully and devise innovative solutions. At KOKUYO, this is what we mean by “listening to customers.”

Having listened to the customer, we transform that information into products that respond accurately to customer desires. We are currently implementing this process in Asian countries, turning local customer dissatisfaction into satisfaction. As in Japan, the terms “Inspiration,” “Efficiency” and “Comfort” have different meanings overseas, in each location and for each customer. Yet our core practice of listening to customers never wavers.

At KOKUYO, we are dedicated to making a positive contribution to society and the world through constant innovation. Delivering inspiration, efficiency and comfort to customers is our greatest joy and responsibility. As we shoulder this responsibility, everyone in the KOKUYO Group is working to create a great KOKUYO brand, one that customers will love and respect for the next 100 years.

Akihiro Kuroda
President
KOKUYO Co., Ltd.