Being still enthusiastic about the victory of the Swiss national soccer team and recovered from the jetlag, we started the third day of our trip by having a brief meeting in the hotel lobby. From there the group travelled with the public transport the Shibuya district. Tomo Akiyama, Head Corporate Communication of the Japanese Technology Company DeNA, welcomed us at the 21th floor of their headquarter. Before entering the meeting room, we had the chance to enjoy a breath taking view over Tokyo’s skyline and smiling at the receptionists.
The company DeNA has representatives in nine different countries all over the world and is nowadays specialized in developing mobile applications. Approximately 80 percent of their total revenue is generated through games. The fact that the company was founded by a woman back in 1999, named Tomoko Namba, is unusual for the Japanese business culture. Being focussed on online auctions at the beginning, the company transformed itself to a tech company with a wide portfolio of mobile and online services. The hit-driven and highly volatile nature of the gaming industry forces the company to remain flexible. Furthermore, Akiyama highlighted the unpredictability of the market and outlined the importance of a diversified portfolio in order to stabilize revenues. His presentation was highly interactive to the extent that he demonstrated their games in front of the audience and made it tangible.
After individual lunchtime, we headed to Roppongi, were Credit Suisse (CS) is located. The Co-Head Private Banking Japan, Christian Huber, who graduated from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), was surprised by seeing his former Professor Florian Angst again. At CS we were given a presentation about the market potential and opportunities of a Swiss Private Bank in Japan. Furthermore Christian Huber was talking about the challenges he faced by building up the branch in this country. Moreover, he highlighted the importance of life-time employment in the Japanese culture and the domestic labour system.
As soon as the visit at CS was finished, we gathered in front of the office to briefly discuss our impressions. The two company visits we had today, could not have been much more different in terms of doing business and also the corporate culture.