The Bridge

Why did Lowrey Global Consultants settle on being a consulting company as opposed to just a language training one? The reason is that there is so much more that my 21 years in Japan have taught me, so much more that I can help foreign companies with. Conversely, my deep understanding of foreign culture and my connections make our business a convenient conduit to foreign businesses in Canada or North America.

One of the keys that can see a lot of companies tend to fall face first is in a lack of understanding of local market conditions. A famous example is the French supermarket giant Carrefour when they tried to expand into Japan and gave up in only 4 years. They started in 2001 and had exited by 2005. They didn't understand that Japanese consumers prefer to buy small quantities of food to make sure that what they are eating is always fresh. So, that means that they shop more often but buy smaller amounts which did not fall into the plans of the European company used to high volume sales. Walmart saw similar disappointment though they gave their majority share in Seiyu 20 years before giving up.

Understanding the local mindset, not just business conditions is a key to success. On top of this, giving things time is essential here. A company can't try to enter into a highly competitive industry and expect to have success in a half year. Relationships need to be built, smaller successful connections can lead to more openness to business from other companies and things can move up the ladder from there. These insights plus an ability to communicate and research in the local market gives us a chance to arm you with the right expectations and strategies in coming into a market such as Japan.