＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:https://skawa68.com/
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Yusaku Maezawa, CEO of ZOZOTOWN, has been in the news recently for his extraordinary spending habits, including his relationship with entertainer Ayame Goriki (1992-), private jets, booking trips to the moon, building luxury homes, acquiring a professional baseball team, and plans to start a men’s professional golf tour. But why is he so rich?
1. who is President Yusaku Maezawa?
Yusaku Maezawa (1975-) is the founder and current president of Start Today Co., Ltd. (currently ZOZO), which operates the fashion online shopping site ZOZOTOWN. He is also the chairman of the Contemporary Art Foundation, a public interest incorporated foundation whose purpose is to promote contemporary art and support the activities of artists.
What makes him unique and different from ordinary business managers is that he was also the drummer for the hardcore punk band “Switch Style,” and until the band broke up, he had two roles: musician and business manager.
2. what is “ZOZOTOWN”?
“ZOZOTOWN” is not a brand name, but an online shopping site that specializes in selling clothing from various brands, from “famous brands” to “affordable brands.” It is one of the largest clothing specialty sites in Japan. In that sense, it is similar to Amazon and Rakuten Ichiba.
However, what is clearly different is that (1) it specializes in selling “popular fashion clothing,” (2) 90% of its products are “consignment sales” for which it takes a “commission (average 30%)” from the stores that it operates as a tenant (purchasing only 10%), (3) its logistics system differs from other mail-order sites in that it stores each store’s products in its “own logistics facilities” and “handles the entire series of tasks from storage, photography, packaging, and shipping” (4) it allows “credit payments” for up to two months.
In addition, the company is known for its services that cater to users’ needs, such as its “custom measurements,” and is said to have gained overwhelming support as an online apparel store.
Regarding credit payments, the regulations state that “minors must obtain parental consent,” but many minors are unaware of this, and there are cases where they make impulse purchases and then are unable to pay two months later, causing problems.
The name “Zozo” of Zozotown comes from extracting the character “zo” from the two words “imagination（「想像（sozo)」）” and “creation（「創造（sozo)」）.”
3. Why he became so extraordinarily wealthy
This is a common story among “founder-presidents,” as the “capital gain” he obtained by listing his company (Start Today Co., Ltd.) on the stock exchange and selling part of his shares, as well as the “income gain” from dividends on his owned shares, are enormous amounts.
According to Forbes magazine, as of March 2017, his total assets are 333 billion yen, ranking him 630th among the world’s richest people and 14th among Japan’s richest people.
4. Future plans etc.
The “private jet” owned by President Maezawa is said to cost 7 billion yen, and the annual maintenance costs are said to be more than 200 million yen. To me, this seems like very poor cost performance…
The cost of the “moon trip” has not been made public, but some speculate that the total cost for all nine crew members will be more than 75 billion yen.
The total cost of the “luxurious mansion” currently under construction in Chiba City, which will serve as a “home and art museum,” is said to be 10 billion yen.
He also has plans to “acquire a professional baseball team” and “host a men’s professional golf tour.”
5. ZOZOTOWN’s growth slows
ZOZO, which operates ZOZOTOWN, a service that has continued to grow rapidly, also appears to have reached a “plateau in growth” or “peak of growth” in 2018.
Operating profit for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2019 fell 26.4% compared to the same period last year, resulting in negative growth, and the stock price also plummeted.
On December 25, 2018, the “ZOZO ARIGATO Membership” discount system (always offering a 10% discount) was launched. This forced store owners to choose between participating in the discount system or leaving the store, but Onward, which rebelled against this, decided to withdraw from ZOZOTOWN.
It seems that President Maezawa is also planning to “develop its own brand” and “expand overseas,” which would likely lead to a fierce all-out war with Uniqlo.
This may be none of my business, but I would like to offer a word of advice to President Maezawa not to show off too much, and to ensure that the company does not overdo it（「手張り過ぎ」）.