Stationery Sales Specialist Working with a Venture Stationery Manufacturer to Breathe New Life into the Industry (Part 1)

I was born in 1976, and the launch of Windows 95 coincided with my entrance into university, so I naturally became interested in systems development. As a result of my job search, I found a job at a city gas company in Nagoya, where my university was located. I worked in the information systems department for eight years. I was entrusted with urgent work such as gas leak reporting systems, which was very rewarding. However, I think it was physically and mentally taxing. Would I continue to work? Or change jobs? One of several options was Teranishi Chemical Industry in Osaka, where my father was president (now chairman) at the time. As you can imagine, it is a family-owned company and a stationery manufacturer that has been in business for over 100 years,” he said.

Japanese stationery is recognized around the world for its “Nippon quality,” but surprisingly, the industry is dominated by family-owned businesses, whether they be sales, wholesalers, or manufacturers. However, there was never an atmosphere in Mr. Teranishi’s family that the eldest son should take over the family or the family business.

His father was always busy working. In a flash of inspiration, I told him that I wanted more family time, and he said, ‘Well, then, you should be in charge of sales in Nagoya for Teranishi Chemical Industry. It is true that I decided to change jobs because of my father’s words, but ever since I can remember, I grew up surrounded by a variety of stationery, including magic ink (®︎), crayons, and paints. I think my love for stationery was stronger than others. I was also aware that my family’s company was being pushed aside by other companies, so I naturally felt the urge to do something I could do to help.

In 1953, Teranishi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. and Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd. jointly developed and launched Japan’s first oil-based pen, “Magic Ink ®︎”. The name of the product, described as “magic,” speaks volumes about the great achievement of Mr. Teranishi’s grandfather in Japan, which was in the midst of postwar reconstruction. For the middle generation and older, including the author, Magic Ink ®︎ has become an extremely long-selling product that no one has ever heard of.

Whenever we tried to sell our products, we were always told, “In the old days,” and children would refer to all oil-based markers together as “Magic ®︎.” Magic ®︎ is also a legitimate product. Magic ®︎ is also a registered trademark (laughs). One day, I found a tire with a white line drawn on it in a photo in an F1 magazine that I liked to read a lot. I looked closely and found that the lines had been drawn by hand, one by one, with a pen from another company. I thought to myself, “If I have to use this, the extra-thick type we have is definitely easier to write with. That’s what I immediately thought. It was a coincidence that we decided to release the white color of Magic Ink ®︎ a short time later.

Without hesitation, Mr. Teranishi called Bridgestone, which at the time was the sole supplier of tires to F1 teams in Japan. At first he called the main phone at the company’s headquarters in Kyobashi, Tokyo. From there he was referred to several departments, and then to the London branch, the F1 base.

The “enthusiasm” of the salesman, who never gives up until he connects with a key person in the field, must naturally be conveyed to the customer. The product samples we sent to them were given a chance to be tested on the road, even though it was mid-season. The product samples we sent were also put into the hands of Hirohide Hamashima, a well-known tire engineer, whom Mr. Teranishi admired greatly. Thus, Magic Ink ®︎ was used in the 2007 F1 race, and was adopted for the next four years.

In 2013, Mr. Teranishi, who had achieved great results early on as a salesman, was asked to leverage the management of the Tokyo office. His choice of a graduate school for an MBA, which was moving at the same time, was abruptly changed to a school in Tokyo. Just as he was finally getting used to his hectic new life with his family in tow, Mr. Teranishi’s transfer to the Osaka head office came as nothing short of a surprise to him.

I was called back to the head office, where my cousin had replaced my father as president, and it was clear that rebuilding the Tokyo office was an important task. My grandfather, whose company’s factory he started at the age of 18, was destroyed by fire in the war, but he rebuilt it again and left behind magic ink ®︎ that will be handed down to our generation. I thought that my respected grandfather’s magic ink ®︎ might be lost if the company continued to be run as it is now.

We must take action, not only with the manufacturer’s thoughts, but with the industry as a whole. Mr. Teranishi left Teranishi Chemical Industry after struggling to figure out how to realize this thought, and it was Hiroki Sagawa of Atabo Corporation, a one-man company that handles everything from the development to sales of original stationery, who gave him a hint.

When I told Mr. Sagawa that I was going back to Osaka temporarily in the summer of 2014, he said, ‘Go and promote my stationery in Osaka while you’re at it. Mr. Sagawa’s request was truly an eye-opening discovery. I had noticed that so-called “one-man makers” were gaining a growing presence in the industry, but I had not paid attention to their business model. Most stationery manufacturers have a sales representative at each location, who visits wholesalers, distributors, and stores. However, they are not able to do so. If that were the case, I could do it for them. I was convinced that I could bring really good stationery to the world, and that it would also be a job for me now that I was unemployed (laughs).

In addition to one-man manufacturers, Mr. Teranishi also focused his attention on manufacturers that develop products using the technology of their core business, such as local factories that have applied their long-standing technology to stationery production. In September 2014, he established NEXT switch Co., Ltd. to provide sales support to a new category of “venture stationery makers,” a combination of the two.

In addition, behind the product proposal to Bridgestone, the event that triggered Mr. Teranishi’s breakthrough as a stationery sales specialist, there was another encounter that has led to the present day. Bridgestone designated Moriiichi Corporation, which sells stationery and office supplies, as a supplier of products. Headquartered in Kyobashi, Tokyo, Mr. Teranishi has always paid attention to manufacturers that develop products using the technology of their core business, such as one-man manufacturers as well as local factories that have applied their long-standing technology to stationery production. In September 2014, he established NEXT switch Co., Ltd. to provide sales support to “venture stationery makers,” a new category that combines the two.

In addition, behind the product proposal to Bridgestone, the event that triggered Mr. Teranishi’s breakthrough as a stationery sales specialist, there was another encounter that has led to the present day. Bridgestone designated Moriiichi Corporation, which sells stationery and office supplies, as a supplier of products. Bridgestone had a business relationship with Moriichi Corporation, a stationery and office supply distributor with its headquarters in Kyobashi, Tokyo. As fate would have it, NEXT switch is now based at the “iKat Kyobashi” rental office in the Moriichi Building (1-3-2 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo).

Teranishi’s challenge has just begun. He is working hard every day as an innovator to create the future of the industry, together with venture stationery makers such as Atabo, his first client, who create innovative stationery products that bring excitement to users. It was because we had a business relationship. And as fate would have it, NEXT switch is now based at the “iKat Kyobashi” rental office in the Moriichi Building (1-3-2 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo).

Teranishi’s challenge has just begun. He is working hard every day as an innovator to create the future of the industry, together with venture stationery makers such as Atabo, his first client, who create innovative stationery products that bring excitement to the user.

Click here for the second part of Teranishi’s interview.

◆Hiroki Teranishi
Representative Director, Stationery Sales Specialist, NEXT switch Co.
Born in Osaka in 1976. Ever since he can remember, he grew up surrounded by a variety of stationery including writing instruments such as Magic Ink (®︎) and art supplies such as crayons. After graduating from university, he worked in the systems division of a city gas company, and in 2006, he moved to a long-established pen and pencil manufacturer founded by his grandfather. After working in sales and management planning, he became independent in September 2014. He implements a unique business model to support “venture stationery manufacturers. MBA (Master of Business Administration).

Related Site
NEXT switch Co.：　http://www.nextswitch.co.jp
Online shop Bungudo：　http://www.bungudo.jp