[JR East aims to shift from a business model centered on the railway business] What is the future picture drawn from the big data of the 100 million issued Suicas? “JR East”
“Growth Strategy for Railways”, released on August 27, 2024. *Kawade Shobo Shinsha*
Press release: August 27, 2024
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[JR East aims to shift from a business model centered on the railway business] What is the future picture drawn from the big data of the 100 million issued Suicas? “JR East”
“Growth Strategy for Railways”, released on August 27, 2024. *JR East is at a crossroads. The company is hastening to shift its focus from the railway business, which is unlikely to generate profits before the coronavirus pandemic, to related businesses such as banking and real estate. How will breaking away from “concentration on railways” change our lives? Delving into the depths of change! * * Kawade Shobo Shinsha Co., Ltd. (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo/Representative Director Yu Onodera) will release “JR East Exiting Railway Growth Strategy” on August 27, 2024. *
* In the spring of 2024, JR East will open the bank “JRE
BANK” started. And we are trying to expand the Suica economic zone. Urban development, distribution, and services drawn from big data from 100 million issued Suicas… We will reveal the future strategy that JR East envisions. *
* ■A “major innovation” outside the framework of a railway company has begun! * Among the many railway companies, JR East stands out as a leading company. Although the company suffered from a deterioration in business performance due to the coronavirus pandemic, it turned profitable for the first time in three years in the fiscal year ending March 2023. However, profits in the railway business are not expected to return to pre-coronavirus levels.
Although our core railway business has reached a plateau, related businesses such as the distribution and service business, real estate and hotel business, and Suica business continue to perform well. And in the spring of 2024, we entered the banking business. The number of issued Suica transportation IC cards developed by JR East is 100 million. There is no doubt that the entry of a railway company with a customer base comparable to the population of Japan and ATMs at many stations will have a major impact on the existing banking and credit card industries.
This book will decipher JR East’s future strategy.
“Why did you enter banking services with such generous benefits?” “From Ekinaka to Machinaka…What is the aim of the change in real estate business policy?”
“What are the benefits of introducing QR code tickets other than cost reduction?”
“How will the big data generated by Suica be used in the future?” “What is the potential of the Shinkansen cargo transport ‘Hakobyun’?” etc. We will take a look at the full story of a huge company that is trying to open up the future of society, not just railways.
* ■Crisis facing JR East * ──Excerpt from the prologue
Japan’s largest railway operator, JR East, is at a major crossroads. Due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, consolidated operating revenue in fiscal 2020 fell to about half of the
pre-coronavirus level, falling into the red for the first time since its inception, and posting a huge net loss of 577.9 billion yen. Business performance has gradually improved with the return of social and economic activity, and operating revenue in FY2023 has recovered to 90% of the level in FY2018, but operating profit remains at around 70%.
Up until now, JR East’s business model has been centered on the railway business, with the aim of generating profits for the group by developing lifestyle service businesses such as indoor spaces, station buildings, and hotels for people who gather at stations to use the railways. .
However, due to population decline, changes in consumer behavior, and changes in working styles, this business model is becoming untenable. Therefore, instead of having the railway business as the main business and the lifestyle services business as a subsidiary, the railway business and the lifestyle services business are the two axes, and we are redefining ourselves as a company that provides “experience value (life value)” through the exchange of people, goods, and information. It was defined.
In fact, this major change was not made suddenly in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The current group management plan was formulated before the coronavirus, and it is also an awareness of the issues that have always plagued JR East since privatization. JR East, which will celebrate its 38th anniversary in 2025, is on track to match the history of Japan National Railways, which lasted 38 years from 1949 to 1987. Just as the Japanese National Railways rose and fell, the history of JR East was never smooth sailing.
What is the historical background and what kind of sense of crisis and problem awareness led to the efforts centered around the group’s management plan “Transformation 2027,” which is currently underway? This book aims to clarify the future vision of JR East through its past and present.
* ■From the main text *
* ■From the table of contents *
* [Prologue] Crisis facing JR East*
* [Chapter 1] “Next move” to survive the era of railway suffering * ・What is the value of the railway company’s banking service “JRE BANK”? ・Actual practice of “new town development” seen in Takanawa Gateway City development
・Circumstances why JR East is particular about increasing the speed of the Tohoku Shinkansen to 360km/h
・How will “Haneda Airport access” change with the entry of JR East? ・Will the “day when drivers disappear” ever come? Current status of autonomous driving development
* [Chapter 2] Understanding the railway business through numbers and history* ・“There is nothing left to do”… JR East faces the privatization of Japanese National Railways
・An order of magnitude even within the industry! JR East railway network ・Distance commuting during the bubble period strengthened JR East immediately after its establishment.
・Achieved cost reduction through innovation in vehicle development and entry into vehicle manufacturing
・Expand Shinkansen network extending in five directions and direct service to conventional lines
* [Chapter 3] Related businesses deciphered through numbers and history* ・From railway-based management to dual pillars of “lifestyle solutions business” ・Full-scale development of related businesses and bursting of the bubble ・Convenience stores, station buildings, hotels…Growth is
accelerating due to business restructuring
・What is the goal of our unique “card business strategy”?
・From a “passing station” to a “gathering station” through ekinaka development ・Transforming stations from transportation hubs to “living platforms” * [Chapter 4] New lifestyle brought about by the evolution of Suica* ・Suica, which changed the way we use railways, is entering a period of change. ・Promotion and challenges of ticketless/mobility
・Group common point “JRE POINT” that connects each service
・What is JR East’s aim in introducing off-peak commuter passes? ・What are the barriers that stand in the way of Suica as electronic money? * [Chapter 5] “Making cities comfortable” and “providing rural areas” * ・What is JR East’s goal of “seamless service”?
・Urban development accelerated by rotating business model
・Is it possible to achieve both urban growth and regional economic revitalization?
・How should we deal with the issue of whether or not local lines remain in the red?
* [Chapter 6] JR East’s future strategy*
・Endless efforts towards “ultimate safety”
・Energy strategy to achieve zero carbon
・Towards “sustainable railway management” in a society with a declining population
・JR East’s “change in mindset” brought about by innovation
* ■Author introduction *
* Tatsuya Edakubo * (Tatsuya Edakubo)
Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1982. Worked in public relations, marketing and research at Tokyo Metro, and retired in 2017. Currently, while writing and dealing with the media as a railway journalist, he also researches railway history, mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area, as an urban transportation historian. Book “Subway in Wartime” Won the 47th Transportation Book Award in the history category for “The Phantom Platform of Shinbashi Station and the Teito Rapid Transit Corporation”.
* ■Bibliographic information *
Book title: *JR East – Railway growth strategy*
Author: Tatsuya Edakubo
Specifications: Shinsho format/Normal paper/224 pages
Release date: August 27, 2024
List price including tax: 979 yen (890 yen)
ISBN: 978-4-309-50454-4
Binding: Kako Koyamata
https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309504544/
Publisher: Kawade Shobo Shinsha
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