The Way of Corporate Life (Part 1)

Snow Peak, an outdoor gear brand known for its passionate fanbase and quality so high it's called "excessive quality." Its headquarters in Sanjo City, Niigata Prefecture, is located within a vast campground. Some employees even camp overnight there to commute to work, drawing attention for its uniqueness. President Futoshi Yamai, who himself camps nearly 60 days a year, is well-known as the face of the company.
Akihito Kunimi of Dentsu Inc. established a new department within the company called the "Future Creation Office." As a partner in new business development, he has worked with President Yamai to strengthen the brand.
Now, Snow Peak is reportedly envisioning new business initiatives centered around the slogan "Add outdoor adventures to your life," aiming to help urban dwellers enjoy nature. Over two installments, we'll explore insights on brand creation and expansion from their dialogue.

Planning & Production: Aki Kanahara, Dentsu Inc. Event & Space Design Bureau

 

Don't Judge Companies by Their Financial Statements Alone

Kunimi: I once had a president in his 50s ask me, "What kind of mindset do people in their 50s have these days?" And a marketing director in his 30s asked, "What are men in their 30s like now?" It struck me as odd, since the people asking were actually the same generation—they should understand it better than I do. But the moment people start thinking in terms of corporations, they tend to lose their sense of individuality. The truth is, both are simply "people interacting with people." If you keep it simple, things like strategy become much clearer. Snow Peak manages this because the corporate personality is essentially the same as the personality of the individual, Mr. Yamai. Snow Peak was founded by your father, and I understand you started your career in sales at a foreign company right after graduating.

Yamai: Yes. I worked in planning and sales for a Swiss brand import company. When I joined, the general affairs manager told me, "Training one new employee costs 100 million yen." So I decided I'd quit only after generating that much in sales. By the time I left, I'd actually brought in about 10 billion yen in new business.

Kunimi: Paying back your own training costs before leaving is very Yamai-san. I joined a bank straight out of college, and I was often told, "Don't judge a company just by its financial statements." Go to the company, look at the employees' expressions, see if the office is organized and tidy – that's where a company's growth really shows. I still believe those are incredibly important factors. Passionate manufacturing can't happen without passionate people. You're a very warm-hearted person, Mr. Yamai. Actually, you're the man who's cried in front of me the most times.

Yamai: Hahaha!

Kunimi: I hear Mr. Yamai often disappears into thin air?

Yamai: I post "Please don't look for me" on Facebook and disappear. I spend three or four days camping, fishing, and thinking about the business vision.

Kunimi: It's well-known that Mr. Yamai spends about 60 days a year in a tent.

Yamai: I believe the president's job is to create the business plan. After that, it's up to the executives, department heads, and employees to execute it. When doing creative work that shapes the company's future, you have to put yourself in the place where you can be most creative.

 

Ninety percent of management is made up of romance.

Kunimi: I think a major characteristic of Snow Peak is that both the president and employees create products they genuinely want, and they've built the market alongside them. Wasn't the auto camping boom that spread in the 90s a pioneer of that? How did you create that boom?

Yamai: By the mid-80s, four-wheel-drive vehicles made up 10% of new car registrations. Yet, you hardly ever saw anyone camping with them. But cars reflect the spirit of the times. The number of people wanting to get outdoors was definitely growing. So, I thought proposing products you could load into your 4WD and take camping immediately was bound to be a hit. We felt a sense of urgency, thinking we had to act before anyone else noticed, and rushed to develop nearly 100 items in just one year. In essence, we captured the latent needs of the era. To put it more bluntly, I wanted to go auto camping myself, and figured if I wanted these items, others would too. We then backed that up logically with the fact that 4WD registrations had reached 10%.

Kunimi: Snow Peak was also the first to create the "fire pit," which has become a staple at campsites these days.

Yamai: The fire pit is a problem-solving product. When campgrounds banning open fires became widespread, we wanted to find a way to still enjoy campfires. So we designed a product that lets you have a fire without damaging the ground.

Kunimi: There's much to learn from Snow Peak's approach of creating entirely new markets starting from the style itself, like the "Iron Grill Table," where you can freely assemble a grill table outdoors using combinations of frames, legs, and units. How does Snow Peak gather user feedback? At the "Snow Peak Way" camping event where Snow Peak users gather, employees, led by Mr. Yamai, participate, right?

Yamai: Snow Peak Way began when our sales were at their lowest point. We wanted to hear directly from users. We placed a full-page ad in the magazine "Be-Pal" to recruit participants. But only 30 groups showed up. It was a shock. And every single one of them said the same thing: "Snow Peak tents are expensive," and "You can't find them anywhere." So the following year, we implemented a major distribution overhaul. We stopped wholesaler transactions, reduced our partners from 1,000 stores to 250 authorized dealers, and in return, significantly expanded our product lineup. We lowered the tent price from ¥80,000 to ¥59,800. A year later, we gave back to those who participated in this way.

Kunimi: Hearing "It's expensive!" directly from customers versus seeing data showing "60% of people felt it was expensive" carries a completely different message. Consequently, the company's actions change too. I believe Snow Peak's rapid growth stems from Mr. Yamai taking the lead in directly embracing users' "emotional connection." What does "management" mean to you, Mr. Yamai?

Yamai: To put it stylishly, it's about thinking romantically and acting as a romanticist, which then yields good products and sales results.

Kunimi: I think a president consciously navigates between dreams and reality. Do you have that sense too, Mr. Yamai?

Yamai: I'd say I'm about 90% in the realm of romance, with the remaining 10% being a sense of responsibility to deliver results.

Kunimi: I've interviewed many company leaders, and few say their romanticism exceeds 50%. Yet without significant romanticism, innovation simply won't happen. Continuing our discussion: Snow Peak consistently challenges conventions, from its fire pits to its ongoing stream of innovative products. Why can Snow Peak keep doing this?

Yamai: I don't think our employees, myself included, really feel like we're challenging anything. We absolutely hate copying what other companies make, so that naturally leads to creating things that haven't existed before.