Mutsumi Kimura, 55, who became the third-youngest president in Takara’s 93-year history in June, plans to expand the company’s network in the US, its biggest export market. That may include acquiring local distributors as an option, Kimura said in an interview. The firm is also targeting a 5% to 6% per year increase in output at its Berkeley sake plant, using locally-grown rice, he said.
Kimura wants to see Takara’s revenue from overseas operations account for about half of total sales. “It’s not a distant goal,” given international sales rose to about 33% of total revenue in the year through March 2018 from 13% in 2013-2014, he said.
The rice-based alcohol is increasingly being recognised by foreign consumers as a drink to enjoy with sushi, Kimura said. “Sake is the best drink to have with Japanese cuisine,” he said. “As sushi restaurants expand, sake sales will grow.”
The company, which posted record sales and profits last fiscal year, seeks to increase sales by 10% from 2017-2018 to US$2.7 billion (295 billion yen) by 2019-2020 and boost operating profits by 20% to US$167.2 million (18.7 billion yen). “I want to keep breaking records,” Kimura said at his office in Kyoto city, western Japan.
Kimura is also the president of Takara Shuzo International, a subsidiary handling the parent company’s overseas operations. The unit’s sales jumped 88% to US$632.4 million (70.7 billion yen) in 2017-2018 after it acquired Mutual Trading Co, a Los Angeles-based wholesaler of Japanese food and beverage to restaurants in North and South America.
Tailwinds
The value of Japan’s sake exports expanded 20% to record US$167.2 million (18.7 billion yen) in 2017 from a year earlier, according to data from the Agriculture Ministry. Imports by the US, the largest buyer, totalled US$53.6 million (6 billion yen), Hong Kong bought sake worth US$25 million (2.8 billion yen), while China spent US$24.1 million (2.7 billion yen), the ministry figures showed.
Shipments are likely to continue to grow after Japan and the European Union signed an agreement in July to eliminate tariffs on imports of sake and wine, according to Mitsubishi Research Institute in Tokyo.
The agreement is a tailwind for Takara as Europe is its second-largest export market, Kimura said. The company is the biggest supplier of Japanese food and sake to restaurants and retailers in the region, he added.