What people who are profiting from the weak yen are doing
The weak yen is a tailwind for…
The yen continues to depreciate: from 115 yen to the dollar at the end of 2021, it has recently risen to 149 yen to the dollar, about 30% weaker than at the end of last year. While people in town are saying that their household budgets are in trouble due to rising utility and food prices, inbound travelers are flocking to Haneda and Narita airports to enjoy the “cheap Japan” that has been created by the drastic relaxation of waterfront measures.
Amid such a situation, there are people who are expanding their business by taking advantage of the weak yen.
Cross-border EC When I first started my cross-border EC business, people thought that Japanese products were excellent but expensive, but I think that the craftsmanship that goes into manufacturing scissors with excellent cutting performance made in Japan is now highly valued,” says one such person.
Tomokazu Iwanaga, president of AURAFIC INC., who began developing wholesale products for beauty salons such as shampoos and conditioners, and as part of the development process, began handling Japanese scissors for the overseas market, opening a showroom in Paris last year.
Mr. Iwanaga’s idea to expand overseas sales came before the COVID-19 crisis began and before the sharp appreciation of the yen.
He said, “Overseas hair stylists demand sharpness, so I was confident in the technical skills that Japanese craftsmen had cultivated. We had received excellent feedback from customers who had actually held Japanese scissors in their hands at hair care product showrooms, but since our scissors were nearly four times the price of scissors from other Asian countries, there were many cases where customers were hesitant to purchase them.
So this spring, when the yen started to depreciate, we repeatedly announced on Instagram, “Because of the weak yen, you can buy them at a great price now! I felt that the tide was gradually turning.
What is the system“to supportcross-borderEC“alreadyinstalled on the ECsite…
However, when it comes to expanding overseas, barriers such as language and legal regulations are inevitable. Even if you use EC sites such as Mercari, it is not easy to communicate with foreign countries, is it?
In this issue, we asked Teppei Honma, executive officer of BeeCruise Corporation, which “supports cross-border EC for companies and individuals,” “What kind of things do you actually sell in cross-border EC, and how? We decided to ask Mr. Teppei Homma, an executive officer of BeeCruise Corporation, a company that “supports cross-border EC for companies and individuals.
He answered, “Up until now, when ordinary companies and sole proprietors thought about exporting, they had to spend a great deal of time and effort on research, taxation, and other formalities. However, our company has adopted“Buyee Connect, “ a system that makes it easy to cross-borderize our ownEC, and we have built our own system that enables us to sell to more than118countries and regions around the world simply byembedding a tag.
In other words, you can start an overseas EC just by embedding a tag, just as you would with a domestic EC. In addition, the system is actually based on Yahoo! and Mercari are already linked to Buyee’s system. So all you have to do is “open a store! Then, the only thing left to do is to open a store!
Thanks to the acceleration of the yen’s depreciation since March, our Thanks to the acceleration of the so-called depreciation of the yen since this March, distribution through our Buyee The distribution through Buyee has been on an upward trend, thanks to the acceleration of the yen’s depreciation since March.
Although genres vary, Japanese and Asian artwork, anime and special effects figures, plastic models, camera-related items, brand-name watches, and alcoholic beverages such as sake and whiskey seem to be attracting a lot of attention.
The Internet world of e-commerce (EC) is an online retail service that matches people who want to sell with people who want to buy. It is true that if a company’s products can be sold overseas via an online market, the company can physically expand its sales channels and, of course, increase its sales.
What is even more surprising is how easy it is. The seller receives the order and simply ships the product to the Buyee side. Buyee takes care of all the procedures until the goods reach the overseas buyer. There is no fee for the seller, and the buyer pays about 300 yen.
Establishment In its 6th In its sixth year of operation 4 billion yen in its first six years of operation. Some small and medium-sized companies have sold ¥4.0 billion in their first six years of business.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the cross-border EC market will grow to approximately 114 trillion yen by 2020. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are aggressively moving into the market, and the fact that some companies have sold 4 billion yen in their first six years of business is information that should not be missed.
In particular, in transactions between China and Japan, China’s purchases are overwhelmingly higher, exceeding 30 billion yen in Japan, while the Chinese side exceeds 1 trillion yen, indicating an interest in Japanese products.
The most important thing is “SNS The most important thing is to use “SNS” to attract customers.
However, just starting an e-commerce business is not enough to attract customers.
What is important here is “promotional activities for overseas markets. It is common for each online store to operate its own account to attract customers. For the aforementioned Ms. Iwanaga, it was a story posted from her Instagram account that led to the expansion of her sales channels overseas.
Even if you just put your products on an online shopping mall, the information won’t reach the customers.
Instagram and other social networking sites to gain fans. SNS Advertisements and cross-border EC It is no longer a secret that social activities to attract customers for cross-border e-commerce can lead to profits. It is only natural that we need to make efforts to make our overseas customers aware of our products and services.
The aforementioned Mr. Homma also emphasizes the importance of SNS utilization.
From “buyers” to “sellers” to “cross-border e-commerce”-online sales are transforming from a garage sale to an export store. Is there anything we can sell? If you look for it, you may be surprised at what you can find. One thing that can be said with certainty about the possibilities is that “you can’t start without trying! The “Buyee” website is a great place to start.
Interview and text by： Megumi Nirei
