Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Swiss entrepreneurs Mr. Claudio Minder and Mr. Karl Müller, the founders of the kybun Joya Group, spoke to some 40 members and guests of the SCCIJ at the September Luncheon about the inspiring journey of building their 85 million Swiss franc health shoe company and the unique challenges they faced as pioneers, especially in Japan. We summarize their presentation in Q&A form.
SCCIJ September Luncheon speaker Claudio Minder, co-founder of kybun Joya Group.
Guests at the SCCIJ luncheon were very surprised to see you both wearing Hawaiian shirts and jeans. What happened?
Mr. Claudio Minder: Well, we flew from Switzerland to Dallas and from there to Japan. But somehow our luggage got stuck in Europe and never caught up with us. We had to get some new clothes and the first thing we saw on our shopping trip were these Hawaiian shirts.
Mr. Karl Müller IV: (smiling) The lost luggage is a good example of the many challenges we had to overcome to be successful as entrepreneurs. It takes perseverance to climb the many mountains along the way. The meaning of “Joya Way” is: do not give up, follow your dream, take the next step. That is one reason why we climbed Mount Fuji just before this lunch.
Your company sells "Joya" shoes - Joya is derived from joy - and "Kybun" shoes. This word means "good mood" or "good feeling" in Korean. Despite this affinity with Asia, you had some problems when you entered the Japanese market in 2010.
C. Minder: Today, Japan is a very important market for us. But we failed with our first entry. We made all sorts of mistakes because we thought that what worked in Europe must also work in Japan. Therefore, we were very surprised to find out that there are no traditional shoe retailers in Japan. And we could not convince the big department stores to sell our shoes.
K. Müller: We were also baffled to find out that there are import quotas for shoes set by the Japanese government. As a shoe importer, you actually have to buy a quota. Also, the Japanese customer is very demanding and shoes look very different in Japan. No wonder the moment came when we decided to take ten steps back and study the market and the consumer first thoroughly in order to develop a long-term expansion strategy.
SCCIJ September Luncheon speaker Karl Müller IV, co-founder of kybun Joya Group.
What did you learn and where are you today in the Japanese market?
C. Minder: We have more than 200 employees worldwide and sell about 400,000 pairs of shoes through 1,200 points of sale in 40 countries, including 12 company-owned stores and more than 50 franchise stores. Japan has become our fourth most important market, where we sell in 26 department stores. We are now planning to open our first store in November and expect to grow 240% over the next five years. One day you will see our shoes in Ginza!
K. Müller: Japan serves as a beacon for our sales in Asia, because being present and successful in Japan is like winning the highest award. Japan as a reference market has a positive effect on distributors, retailers and customers in Taiwan and Korea.
Members and advisors of the SCCIJ Executive Committee together with September Luncheon speakers C. Minder and K. Müller, founders of kybun Joya Group.
What are the necessary ingredients for success in the Japanese market?
C. Minder: We have learned this the hard way. You need a unique market proposition to convince Japanese customers, because they can find and buy anything in this market. We were able to sell through department stores, such as “Takashimaya” in Yokohama and “Mitsukoshi” in Tokyo Nihonbashi, but it was very difficult to convince our partners to test pop-up stores and road shows to market our shoes. Finally, we stopped ordering from the top and told our Japanese team: ‘We believe in you and your strategy.’ We learned from them that you need to focus on building a brand in Japan, building trust and credibility with Japanese consumers.
K. Müller: The style of communication and marketing is completely different in Japan. Here, we focus on the medical benefits of our shoes and explain them in detail to justify the comparatively high price. Normally, we talk about the “health” aspect in general. We also customized the shoes for Japan. We adapted the color and material of the products and created Japanese shoe editions that became bestsellers. Perseverance, friendship, and cross-cultural understanding are necessary to achieve our business goals in Japan and elsewhere.
The Kybun Joya Group is the only Swiss footwear company that manufactures in Switzerland. Is this an additional argument for your marketing in Japan?
C. Minder: In fact, a Swiss newspaper article described us as ‘the nation’s shoemaker’. At our stores, we use the Swiss cross on a square red background to emphasize our origin and heritage. We also recently acquired the traditional Swiss shoe brand “Kandahar” which stands for Swiss- and handmade shoes since 1932. So, we have a strong connection to Switzerland.
K. Müller: A guest at the luncheon suggested that we should emphasize the “Swissness” of our shoes and our brand to broaden the appeal to Japanese customers, who are said to be very fond of Switzerland and Swiss brands in general. We actually think we could take up this suggestion.
The SCCIJ July Luncheon took place at the Shangri-La Hotel in Tokyo.
About the speakers
Mr. Claudio Minder grew up in Southern Italy as the son of Swiss emigrants. In 2008, together with Mr. Karl Müller, he founded the company Joya Shoes. Through acquisitions and the merger with the kybun shoe brand, he now heads the kybun Joya Group with over 200 employees.
Mr. Karl Müller IV, the son of a Swiss engineer and a South Korean mother, founded the fashion label Mymui with his brother. After a trademark dispute with Miu Miu in 2006, he founded Joya Shoes together with Mr. Claudio Minder. The group is present in more than 40 countries and sells 400,000 pairs of shoes every year.
Text and photos: Martin Fritz for SCCIJ
