Visional
A 154-year-old sake brewery uses DX to speed up its regrowth ~Building an innovative regrowth model as the number of sake breweries plummets~ SME DX specialized fund and tags in 1 year, annual sales 1.2 times compared to the previous year, aiming to be profitable
Through the M&A Succeed (https://ma-succeed.jp/), a corporate and examination-based M&A matching site operated by Visional Group’s M&A Succeed Co., Ltd. (location: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo/President: Hasumi Kin), Kujira Capital Co., Ltd. (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Shinji Takeuchi) and its management fund Kujira No. 1 Investment Business Limited Liability Union (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Kujira Capital”) In October 2021, we acquired the sake brewing business of Kanai Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Location: Hadano City, Kanagawa Prefecture, abbreviation: Kanai Sake Brewery). Kujira Capital is Japan’s first “DX fund” that supports the regrowth of small and medium-sized enterprises through digital transformation, launching an EC site on the day of acquisition, and DX from the management and sales departments to the brewing process. Promotion. As a result, Kanai Sake Brewery’s annual sales increased by 1.2 times compared to the previous year, the deficit was halved, and the company is already in the black, making a speedy recovery.
long. With the number of sake breweries closing down rapidly, this case is an innovative model that solves the two problems of SMEs at once: the need to improve productivity and the difficulty of finding a successor.
We have just released a dialogue between the two companies. See here for details.
https://ma-succeed.jp/content/agreement/post-12608
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Transferring company (transferring company): Kanai Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. ・Business overview: Sake brewing and sales
・Number of employees: 20 ・Established: 1868 (Meiji 1) ・Reason for transfer: due to lack of successor
↓ Absorption split ↓
Acquired company: Kujira Capital
・ Business overview: Operates Japan’s first small and medium-sized DX specialized fund. Acquire management rights and participate in management hands-on.
・Number of employees: 9 ・Established: 2018 ・Reason for acquisition: Business expansion
*Kujira Capital sent the first message the day after the Kanai Sake Brewery project was posted on M&A Succeed, and signed the contract six months later.
* Number of offers to Kanai Sake Brewery via M&A Succeed: 11 companies nationwide in various industries
■Half of the employees are engineers. Launched the EC site on the first day and promoted DX speedily
Kujira Capital, whose mission is to “fill the world with wonderful companies,” acquired the management rights of Kanai Sake Brewery’s sake brewing business and participated in management as a shareholder who bears the risks through hands-on. We are committed to the permanent growth of Kanai Sake Brewery by increasing the value and passing it on to the next person. Half of Kujira Capital’s employees are engineers, and speedily promote Kanai Brewery’s DX (funds with engineers are rare). Four people from Kujira Capital visit Kanai Sake Brewery on a daily basis to promote regrowth with President Sano and existing employees.
■ Initiatives implemented at Kanai Sake Brewery in the past year [Image 2
・ Launch an EC site on the first day of M&A. EC sales to 10% of total sales. ・ DX in the management department (improve productivity by introducing accounting cloud software and EC-linked POS cash register. Speedy monthly closing), DX in the sales department (communication / project management tools such as Slack, Asana, Backlog, Google Workspace, etc.) exercise).
・DX of the brewing process: For koji making, it is necessary to check the temperature and humidity once an hour, including staying overnight for several days. Therefore, we installed an electronic thermometer and hygrometer in the koji room where the koji is made, and introduced an experimental system that notifies the toji, who is taking a nap in the next room, via Bluetooth when the temperature exceeds a certain threshold. (It is a difficult attempt, such as the electronic thermometer being destroyed by heat and alcohol, but we plan to try again this year.)
・Renewal of corporate identity and bottle design.
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■Sake exports have reached record highs for 10 consecutive years. Kanai Sake Brewery is also strengthening exports
Although domestic demand for sake is declining, overseas demand is increasing. The export value of sake in 2021 will increase by 66% year-on-year to approximately 40.2 billion yen, marking a record high for the 10th consecutive year (Note 1). Japanese sake was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013, and many sake breweries have been highly evaluated at overseas competitions. Therefore, Kanai Sake Brewery will also focus on exporting.
■ Comment from Hiroyuki Sano, President of Kanai Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. [Image 4
I will be the 6th brewery owner. People in Sano have been making sake for generations. After working for a major company, I returned in 1995 and took over the baton from my father in his 70s in 2021. The sake industry wasn’t doing very well, and until a certain point, I was considering going out of business. I was told by my grandparents and my university student daughter, who had seen my hardships, that they had no intention of taking over. Sake breweries have unique business practices and the manufacturing process takes a long time, so I am now 50 years old, but I was worried that I had to do something while I could move, so I searched for various measures and came across Kujira Capital. .
There weren’t many psychological barriers to working with the fund. In business textbooks, it is written that “Funds are common overseas in M&A”. It is an image of increasing corporate value through hands-on (investors directly participate in the management of investee companies). From the perspective of my father’s generation, the fund seemed to have an image of being a “vulture,” and it was difficult to clear up that misunderstanding. I had a meal with Mr. Takeuchi and got to know his personality. After carefully explaining the merits and necessity of accepting capital from the fund, my father finally said, “Leave it to me.” So, when it was time for me to take over, I decided to go with Mr. Takeuchi.
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■ Comment from Shinji Takeuchi, President of Kujira Capital Co., Ltd. Sake has been an object of consideration since the company was founded. Domestic consumption and the number of drinkers are declining, but exports are doubling the game. I thought that something unique to Japan with universal value = “SAKE” would definitely become popular. However, I couldn’t find a sake brewery anywhere, so I kept looking for it for about two years. When I met Kanai Sake Brewery through M&A Succeed, I thought, “This is it!”
I met Mr. Sano and had sake. Daiginjo and unpasteurized sake, which is the prototype of “Haruzake”, were outstandingly delicious. Despite being a small brewery with only 20 employees, it is technically capable of producing both Junmai sake and Daiginjo sake. I understood that it is a kura with strength. And Mr. Sano’s flexibility. As a sixth-generation owner, he has both a sense of responsibility and a spirit of challenge. We were confident that we would be successful in combining our skills.
■ Message from M&A Succeed Co., Ltd.
This success story is a unique example of “M&A Succeed”, which depicts a future of growth by leveraging the strengths of both companies through M&A, out of many options. Kanai Brewery President Hiroyuki Sano spent several years worrying about his future management and consulted with various people. When I registered for “M&A Succeed”, I received offers from 11 companies nationwide (Kanto, Kansai, Hokushinetsu, Kyushu, etc.) in various industries such as logistics, agriculture, import/export, regional revitalization, real estate, gifts, and EC. , President Takeuchi of Kujira Capital immediately made an offer the day after it was posted. Mr. Takeuchi, President of Kujira Capital, has been looking for a sake maker for about two years, and was impressed by Kanai Sake Brewery’s technical capabilities and Mr. Sano’s sense of responsibility and challenging spirit. On top of that, we signed a contract within 6 months from the first exchange. Like the two companies in this case, “M&A Succeed” centers on “M&A management” (“multiplication” management that incorporates M&A) and is actively utilized by the managers themselves. Since there are many cases in which management directly responds, the speed of
decision-making is fast, and 72% of cases conclude contracts (Note 2) in less than half a year. In addition, 48% (Note 2) of the transfer company and the transferee company were in different industries. “M&A Succeed”, whose mission is “Entrust your life to meet people,” will continue to strive to spread M&A as an option in management strategy in Japan.
■ About Kanai Sake Brewery
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・The only sake brewery in Hadano City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Known for its refined sake that is carefully brewed using underground water from the famous Tanzawa Mountains, its flagship brand, Shirasasatsuzumi, is widely loved in Kanagawa Prefecture.
・We have a wide lineup of 8 types of special name sake, ordinary sake and liqueurs. There is a company culture that “it’s okay to play with one foot without shifting the pivot”, and we also sell the “Mozart series” brewed with classical music, and the cherry blossom-colored sake “Haruzake”, which will be released only in spring, and take on the challenge. continue.
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・Received numerous awards, including the 2020 Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau Liquor Appraisal, Grand Prize in the Refined Sake Category and the Sake Junmai Sake Category, and the 2nd Reiwa National New Sake Appraisal Award.
Click here for details (conversation between the two companies). https://ma-succeed.jp/content/agreement/post-12608
■Reference: Both the number of sake breweries and shipments are decreasing year by year. The impact of the corona disaster will add to the blow
According to the 2021 survey, there are 1,167 breweries in the sake manufacturing industry (Note 3), and the number of sake breweries with sake brewing licenses is less than half of what it was 50 years ago. decreasing (Note 4). Many of the reasons for suspension and closure are the lack of successors and craftsmen, and management difficulties due to the decrease in sake shipments (down 70% from the peak in 1973) (Note 1). In addition, the food and beverage industry has been hit hard by the impact of the corona wreck, adding to the decline in sake shipments. Due to the restrictions of the Liquor Tax Law, it is extremely difficult to obtain a new brewery license, and it is said that it is virtually impossible for a newcomer to brew sake. It leads to going.
(Note 1) National Tax Agency “Liquor Report March 2020” (Note 2) M&A SUCCEED 2021 All Contract Data
(Note 3) Liquor Tax Division, Taxation Department, National Tax Agency “Overview of Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturing and Wholesale Business (2021 survey)”
(Note 4) National Tax Agency “Trends in the Number of Liquor Production Licenses”
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■ Corporate/screening system M&A matching site “M&A Succeed” “M&A Succeed” is a corporate/screening system M&A matching site that connects the transferor company and the transferee company online. Transferring companies can anonymously register company and business outlines in “M&A Succeed”, and transferee companies can search and view that information. Since the transferee company can directly approach the transferring company that is interested, it is an opportunity for the transferring company to grasp the existence of potential capital alliance partners and the market value of the company. As a result, the transferring company can consider M&A from an early stage as one of the management options, expanding the options for the management. The service was launched in November 2017, and more than 13,400 transfer cases nationwide (more than 4,800 listed) have been registered, and more than 8,200 transfer companies are in use (as of August 2022). URL: https://ma-succeed.jp/
■ About M&A Succeed Co., Ltd.
With the mission of “Entrusting your life to meet people”, he operates the corporate and examination system M&A matching site “M&A Succeed”. The service started in November 2017 as a new business of BizReach Co., Ltd. In February 2020, Visional Incubation Co., Ltd., which was newly established with the transition to the group management system, will operate until October 2021. Along with the reorganization, from November 2021, we aim to realize our mission as M&A Succeed Co., Ltd. URL: https://www.visional.inc/en/ma-succeed.html
■About Vision
With the group mission of “New possibilities one after another”, we are developing various businesses that promote the digital
transformation (DX) of industry, mainly in the HR Tech area. We aim to build a corporate human resource utilization and human resource strategy (HCM) ecosystem, centered on recruitment platforms such as “BizReach” and the human resource utilization platform “HRMOS” series. In addition, we are launching new businesses one after another in the areas of M&A, Logistics Tech, Cyber Security, and Sales Tech. URL: https://visional.inc
Details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000417.000034075.html