Kouta-san, Thank you for sharing your courage on changing your life & career direction... it is very inspiring... i wish to have the same courage too...
i hope i can have the opportunity to taste your specialty coffee...
Gambate Kudasai !!!
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Banker-turned-'barista' predicts big things for gourmet coffee
By TETSUSHI KAJIMOTO - Staff writer
Kouta Matsuda's obsession with world food began in his childhood, when he traveled around the globe with his father, a trader.
Kouta Matsuda spells out the taste -- and profit -- in specialty coffee.
But the 32-year-old president, CEO and chief "barista" (a specialist in making gourmet coffee) of Tully's Coffee Japan Co. didn't fall in love with specialty coffee until a trip to Boston for a friend's wedding in 1995.
He was so impressed by the taste of specialty coffee that he resigned from Sanwa Bank in 1996 and decided to pursue a career in coffee. When Tom O'Keefe, Tully's founder, chairman and head barista, came to Tokyo later that year, Matsuda negotiated with him to obtain a franchise for the third-largest coffee shop chain in the U.S., which is based in Seattle.
Matsuda admits that he couldn't care less about the taste of coffee during his banking days.
"I used to drink coffee like smokers smoked cigarettes -- like at times when I was working on a report and could do with a little something to keep my mouth busy," he said in a recent interview.
"But now I can't drink canned or instant coffee."
Matsuda launched the affiliate firm in May 1998, about nine months after he set up a Tully's coffee shop in Tokyo's posh Ginza district, which proved a success.
With deflation now gripping the economy, some wonder why relatively expensive specialty coffee shop chains like Starbucks and Tully's are proving so popular.
But Matsuda firmly believes that business opportunities still exist in a dour economic environment as long as value is added to the product and a strong brand image is projected.
"The sheer taste and quality of the coffee make a difference after all," Matsuda said. "And many Japanese consumers have a subtle sense of taste and can distinguish one type of coffee from another by its aroma and appreciate high-quality coffee."
Matsuda believes businesses such as his will increase in popularity as Japanese people increasingly embrace their individuality. This is in stark contrast to their tendency to sway between polarized extremes, as was evident in consumer sentiment during and after the asset-inflated bubble economy years.
"During the bubble (years of the late 1980s), people were infatuated with big-name brands and anything expensive," Matsuda said, recalling his college senior year around 1990 when he didn't mind paying 800 yen to 900 yen for a cup of coffee while job-hunting.
"Then the bubble burst, and people suddenly leaped at coffee served for 150 yen to 180 yen," he said. "And now consumers have become more mature and are willing to spend a little extra money on what they consider worthwhile.
"Also, when businesspeople are forced to tighten their purse strings, they may feel a sense of luxury and relief in sipping a cup or two of specialty coffee, which costs about 100 yen more than some low-priced brands."
Despite an initial struggle to get the business off the ground, Matsuda said he has never been happier, pursuing his childhood dream to own his own business in the food industry.
What's more, the chain has now secured a foothold in the Tokyo metropolitan area with 34 outlets, and recently went public to facilitate further expansion.
The entrepreneur predicted, "This is just the beginning, since specialty coffee has only 1 percent of the overall coffee market share in Japan now."
The Japan Times: Sunday, Sept. 23, 2001(C)
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Source : http://search.japantimes.co.jp/print/nn20010923b3.html
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