Masato Mizunoˇ¦s grandfather loved baseball. His grandson no runs the giant Mizuno sports equipment empire.
IF YOU'VE PLAYED a game of ball in Japan – or skied, or golfed – you’ve probably used a piece of equipment made by Mizuno, a pioneer of Japanese sporting equipment. The company is more than 100 years old, but its products are anything but stodgy. Its Breath Thermo garments use advanced technology to keep you warm in the winter (by employing ambient moisture). The products are warm, and cool too: Mizuno-brand sportswear is one of the hottest brands in France among young people.
Chairman Masato Mizuno sat down with power contributing editor Bernard Krisher and photographer Kaku Kurita and explained the company’s history and philosophy. His dedication to the brand was evident before the interview, when Mizuno’s staff warned Krisher and Kurita not to show up wearing any competing company’s gear.
Your company was founded by your grandfather.
Yes, that is true.
And his brother in Osaka.
Yes, that’s true too.
Originally they had a sundries shop that also sold baseballs.
After that, we began to make sports equipment.
Can you tell me the rest of the history?
My grandfather was born in 1884 in Ogaki, Gifu prefecture, near Nagoya in central Japan. Ogaki was wiped out by the big earthquake of 1891 in which 80 percent of its houses were destroyed, followed by a big fire. My grandfather’s younger sister was killed in the earthquake too. My great grandfather died two years later. Then my grandfather, who owned a lumberyard and worked as a carpenter, moved to Osaka and became an apprentice selling merchandise at various stores. When he was 18, he went to Kyoto and saw a baseball game, the first time in his life. He was charmed by the experience and decided he would try to build a business around baseball. This was at the time of the Russo-Japanese War, and he was drafted into the army. When he was discharged at the age of 22, he opened a shop selling custom-made sports gear.
There were not many sports teams at that time and there wasn’t a big market, so he focused on custom-made uniforms, then sports equipment such as baseball bats, balls, mitts and shoes, some of which he made himself.
My grandfather was such a good businessman, filled with ideas and so much passion, that his business continued to grow. He drew on his passion for sports to support numerous sports tournaments.
He was the founder of high school baseball tournaments and ultimately was voted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame for supporting baseball in various ways. I followed in his footsteps and have been collecting sports memorabilia, which you can see here displayed in my office, such as this ball signed by Babe Ruth, numerous jackets worn by famous athletes, Olympic posters including the Berlin 1936 Olympics, Tokyo 1964, Sapporo 1972 and here is a poster for the planned “Tokyo 1940 Olympics” which never took place due to the political climate at the time.
How did you move into other sports equipment?
In 1920, my grandfather began importing ski equipment from Sweden and, in 1923 presented a pair of skis to members of the imperial family, who were sports enthusiasts. They suggested we produce our own skis to promote a sense of pride that we can do it ourselves. My grandfather followed this advice and we began to make our own skis and then other equipment such as golf clubs, golf balls, tennis rackets, tennis balls, shoes. Then we developed the technology to produce clothing able to raise or lower its temperature according to the climate. While we once imported a great deal of sportswear and equipment, we are now in a position of being a significant exporter. We are also a major swimwear manufacturer. We continue to focus on technological improvements in our products. While my grandfather emphasized technology he also placed great value on craftsmanship, so this is our tradition, too. Our aim is to develop sporting goods with quality and function. This is a sample. [Mizuno holds up a product.] This is a fabric we developed called Breath Thermo. I will add some water and if you squeeze it in your hand, can you feel the temperature go up?
Can you make it colder?
We also have Ice Touch. If you touch the material, it will become cool.
What was the most difficult problem you faced in business or in life, and how did you overcome it?
I’ve had a very lucky life. I am the luckiest man in the world. I was born as a third generation of the Mizuno family of Mizuno sports. My grandfather really spoiled me. I went to a first-class private school from kindergarten through university. I was on an escalator. Then I had the opportunity to attend college in the United States, Carthage College, where I gained many friends, and moved back to Japan to eventually run this company where I was surrounded by a superb, cooperative team and faced no internal problems.
The only major problem that hit me was the collapse of the bubble economy in the 1990s. We set up a good strategy to overcome our losses. We had to take all kinds of measures, including a reduction of employees. So our company remains stable and harmonious. Thus far, I have remained a truly lucky man without any critical problems in my whole life. To avoid crisis situations, I have relied on my Boy Scout experiences, I always practice the Boy Scout motto: “Be Prepared.”
What are you preparing yourself for now, in your company?
We carefully study economic conditions and marketing trends and this prepares us to combat any situation that might cause damage. By being prepared, we can avoid problems that other companies have experienced, such as Lehman Brothers, AIG, Citibank and the others that have required massive government bailouts. We are not allowing our company to grow too fast. We are reducing our expenditures and inventories, creating a better marketing environment to sell; otherwise, we will face great economic problems. Based on our company philosophy, we move step by step. We also continue to stick to our main product, sports equipment, and not expand into other areas or unrelated investments.
You have a long history of supporting sports and being a champion of the Olympics. What is your philosophy about sports? Do sports have a unique value, an ethical value, what do sports contribute to society?
I believe sports have saved the world. If you look at newsstands here and maybe elsewhere, you find a majority of newspapers or magazines are sports-oriented, and the TV listings are replete with sports programs as well. If you circle the type of sports events held, you are likely to find that they focus on the three “F’s”: Fighting spirit, fair play and friendship.
In your concept of sports do you feel one always has to win?
We must embrace the enthusiastic passion to win, but accept we cannot win all the time; so we should accept that we will win and lose and win again, to learn from our mistakes and aim to win on average.
You mentioned your grandfather had passion. Is passion an important quality for life and work?
The most important qualities we should possess are faith and passion in all our endeavors.
Is it important to strongly believe in whatever you are doing? Does that give us all a raison d’être?
Yes. The key thing is to possess integrity, faith and passion.
What was the most important influence you gained from your parents and grandfather?
My name is Masato. Masato means honest man. My grandfather always reminded me to be honest and also never to tease anyone or call them a fool, and warned me that others might accuse me of being a fool. I learned a great deal from him as has our company is ever conscious of setting an example for correct behavior. We comply with the customs and regulations. Compliance is the key word for us. We aim to comply with our own and industry standards and wish to be the role model for other companies in pursuing this philosophy.
Are there going to be any more Mizuno family members running the company, in your tradition, in the future?
My son Hideto has just been appointed a board member. He is now the vice president of Mizuno USA in Atlanta, Georgia, but is expected to move back to Japan.
What is your corporate philosophy and how much of it came from your family or grandfather?
Our corporate philosophy is to contribute to society through the advancement of sporting goods and the promotion of sports. While we are a sporting goods manufacturer and continue to develop new products to benefit sports, we also aim to prosper and continue to promote sports activities, and support sports teams and players. When my father and grandfather died, they were rich men. They established the Mizuno Sports Promotion Foundation, which continues to donate its endowment to sports.
What about others sports, such as traditional Japanese sports like sumo?
Not sumo, but judo. Maybe we will add sumo in the future. My key tenets for running our company responsibly are, in order: enforcing the strict behavior of our governors, enforcing compliance, insisting all our rules are followed, maintaining internal control, ensuring all procedures are carried out properly, avoiding any harassment, respecting risk management, conserving the environment, satisfying our stockholders, and keeping our stakeholders, such as our employees, satisfied. We must also respect disclosure and practice philanthropy. My grandfather was the spirit behind all these practices. After the war, when there was a severe food shortage and people suffered, a black market emerged which exploited these conditions, but my grandfather refused to buy from the black market and instead grew our own vegetables to survive. It is this spirit that has guided me and our company to grow and exist.
What is the basis for your involvement in supporting the Olympics?
Because the Olympics has such a strong impact in preserving peace. The ancient Olympics started this spirit by requiring that all its participants have an agreement not to engage in any confrontation among themselves before an Olympics. I strongly support the idea that there should be no conflict or war before, during or after an Olympics for at least three months. This has been the Olympic tradition since its beginning in 776 BC and 1,200 years onward. It has persisted every four years when the Olympic Games have been held. It is the philosophy of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee, and I am strongly impacted by it and guided by it.
You were the president of the Tokyo Rotary Club, whose members are some of the heads of leading Japanese corporations, and you have just been elected to be the next governor.
Rotary, like the Olympics, has a very noble philosophy. It is engaged in numerous activities benefiting society and encouraging, with awards and scholarships, the healthy development of people toward activities that bring great benefit to society. This encompasses all the good things that I learned from my family and want to continue to perpetuate through my Rotary association.
