Since its founding, Commerce Media has been involved in a wide range of EC support businesses, including EC consulting, EC site production, and EC site management services. In addition, for the past two years, the company has been focusing on managing its own brand as a sales business, venturing into new fields that are different from the EC support businesses it has been involved in thus far.
We interviewed CEO Izawa again about the business's growth in response to the needs of the EC market, its future prospects, and what kind of talent Commerce Media needs now to achieve this!
Starting with EC support, we are also focusing on sales business
- Currently (as of October 2024), Commerce Media is engaged in support businesses such as EC consulting, EC site creation, and EC site management services, as well as sales businesses such as in-house brand management. I would like Mr. Izawa to introduce these businesses to job seekers.
Izawa: E-commerce consulting has been available since the company was founded, and later we began creating and operating e-commerce websites in response to client challenges.
Currently, the largest proportion of our EC support business is EC site management agency. EC consulting and EC production are often proposed as a set by EC management agency as needed. In addition to new EC site production, we also have many cases of improving existing sites.
We have been focusing on the sales business for about two years now. We have taken on a wide range of retail ventures, including purchasing and product planning, while making use of the EC know-how we have accumulated through our supportive role, such as becoming the general agent in Japan for a Korean baby brand, selling products under a brand we inherited, starting a coffee bean roasting business, and producing goods as an official partner company for a professional sports team.
This sales business accounts for approximately 30% of total sales, and is expected to grow to 50% by next year.
-While you provide e-commerce support, what was the reason behind your decision to start your own sales business?
Izawa: From the beginning, I had the idea that "it's all about having inventory." When supporting other companies' EC businesses, if you don't have experience purchasing and selling products in-house, your proposals won't be convincing. With that idea in mind, we started naturally, as our number of employees increased and the opportunity to have a brand came up at the right time.
Rakuten, after experience at a venture company, to start a company
-First of all, could you tell us how you came to start Commerce Media?
Izawa: I've wanted to start a business since I was a student. I was born into a farming family in Chiba, and farms are sole proprietorships, so I grew up in an environment where running your own business was the norm.
I wasn't aware of it when I was a child, but when I was a student, I started to want to do something on my own, and I gained a lot of experience in student groups. After graduating, I joined Rakuten, but I had told them from the beginning that I wanted to be independent, so I joined the company on the premise that I would be independent.
After that, I wanted to gain experience in a small or medium-sized company, so I moved to a venture company and started up an EC department. When that company went public, I became independent and started my own company.
-You had always wanted to go independent, but what made you actually decide to go independent?
Izawa: The company went public and I was working as an executive, but I was still in my 20s. I thought that if I continued like this, I would end up in an environment where no one would scold me, and it would be unpleasant to end it there. So I decided to go independent and start something again from scratch.
-Have you considered the e-commerce industry from the beginning?
Izawa: I didn't really think about it at first, but in the end, e-commerce was what I could do. I had often been able to help companies in trouble using my past experience, so it felt like I was naturally drawn into it as I helped people with their problems.
Also, I thought that retail, which involves purchasing and selling goods, would not disappear from the world in the future. EC is doing retail digitally. When I was at a venture company, I saw many web services appear and fall into disuse, so I wanted to prevent that from happening.
Expanding business by being needed by the market
-What was important to you when launching your commerce media business?
Izawa: Since the company's founding, we have always valued the idea of "doing what is naturally needed in the market." Personally, I believe that work acquired through push-type sales does not meet the needs of society. That's why we've come this far with a style that doesn't involve much sales. We believe that if clients don't repeat their work or don't want to introduce it to others, it means that the market doesn't need it.
How have you grown your business since you started the company?
Izawa-san: At first, I was the only one in the company, so I could only give advice. To put it fancy, it was EC consulting. Eventually, we had clients who had difficulty putting the advice they received into practice. So, in the first year of our business, we started with EC site production, then we started operating EC sites as an agency, and gradually increased the number of members to carry out the work.
When providing support at EC, we try to think about what is lacking in society's needs. The client's needs are not always correct, so we don't just accept them at face value, but sometimes we point out, "Isn't that not right?"
-Is there anything you would like to challenge yourself with or aim for in the future?
Izawa: We are not a company with capital, so we don't need to think about exiting the company, such as going public. Therefore, we want to work on what we want to do and what society needs. The EC support business is a lot of fun because we can work with various clients. On the other hand, the sales business is the business where it is easiest to understand the evaluation from society, because selling something means there are people who are willing to buy it.
I think it's most interesting to do both the EC support business and the sales business, so I'd like to continue to work on both in a balanced way, rather than limiting myself to one or the other. In the end, I like being able to provide value within the cycle of society. Personally, I want to live my life without any regrets about not having done that when I die.
Labor shortage in the EC industry and the skills required
-While supporting various e-commerce businesses, are there any common challenges you have come across?
Izawa: It's human resources. The number of people who can manage EC operations at the departmental level has increased in recent years, but there are still very few people who can decide and implement policies like a conductor in an orchestra.
Even in large companies, it is not uncommon for a talented person to be in charge of EC operations and management alone, and the situation where the company cannot function without that person is not rare. There are also few people who can handle both the mall and the company's own EC site. Even support companies often have separate roles.
-On the other hand, if you become a person who can do that, there will be opportunities for you to thrive.
Izawa: That's right. People with comprehensive abilities and the ability to get involved in a variety of areas are needed. I think that in the future, detailed measures will be possible with AI tools, but there are few people who can make decisions on whether to do them or not based on the current situation of the company. The ability to make decisions and take responsibility may be what will become the value of people in the future.
The fun part about working in commerce media is change
-What do you think is the most interesting part about working in commerce media?
Izawa: I think the most important word is "change." At Commerce Media, there are very few people who are doing the same job as they did six months ago. For example, a member who was a consultant might be in charge of human resources, and a member who was in charge of operations might be in charge of the company's own brand business. Based on the individual's wishes and the career they want to pursue in the future, we assign roles and tasks to people who are likely to be able to do the job at that time and who are likely to fit in. In actual projects, we form teams with members from multiple professions and try to create a gradation in each person's work.
In the case of a comprehensive EC support project, the team will consist of a member who is mainly in charge of consulting, a member who is mainly in charge of production, and a member who is mainly in charge of management. Among these, the consultant will also be responsible for some of the management. This is also intended to foster respect for each other's work.
In addition, we generally encourage employees to hold multiple jobs, and this is also a part of our evaluations. Each employee is assigned to a consulting department, operations department, or production department, but for example, one member may spend 30% of their time on consulting work and 70% on operations work.
Freedom of working style requires effort
-While a changing work style is interesting, it can also be tough and require a lot of effort.
Izawa: They are two sides of the same coin. Commerce Media is an organization that thinks and acts very fast, so I think it's important to have a sense of speed that matches. It's also important to look at yourself objectively and tune your own speed to match the speed of those around you.
Even before COVID-19, our company has had many employees working remotely, and there are only a few jobs that require employees to come to the office. In return, we place great importance on individual independence and expect employees to discipline themselves.
Basically, members who live close enough to commute to the office come in once a week, and members who live farther away make business trips to the office about once every three months, but other than that they have to tune themselves through their daily work and adjustments at meetings, etc.
Since remote work is the norm, it is also necessary for people to take the initiative to join the group. If each person does not have this awareness, they will have to come to the office and we will have to manage them. This will result in a weak organization, so I don't want to do that.
What kind of people thrive in commerce media?
-In your opinion, what do people who work in commerce media have in common?
Izawa: Each person is independent and not clingy, and in a good way, there is a sense of distance between people. I think that is why we are able to function as an organization.
For me, it would be good if each member felt that there was a reason for them to be at Commerce Media. If the company cannot provide value to its members, it is inevitable that they will go to other companies. The ideal organization is one where people can come together naturally and effortlessly.
Another feature is that the company is mainly staffed by employees, not by contractors. Currently, we have about 40 employees, and about 50 if you include contractors. We're not particularly focused on one type or the other, but the ratio of employees to contractors is quite high compared to other companies in the same industry.
- I think it may be a little intimidating for people with no experience in EC to join Commerce Media. Do you have a message for people who are interested in working at Commerce Media but have no experience in EC?
Izawa: By expanding our sales business, we have opened the door to people in professions that are not particularly related to EC. People with no EC experience, such as those with experience in wholesale, manufacturing, and media, are increasingly playing active roles. Building on their previous experience, they can gain exposure to the overall picture of EC, so it should be easy to advance in their careers.
-What kind of people do you think will be needed in the future?
Izawa: At Commerce Media, we don't work with clients whose goals and values don't match ours. For that reason, we place importance on working with the end user, the client's customer, rather than the client, that is, the person who gives us money.
We also decline requests from clients who think that "clients are on top and vendors are on the bottom," because we believe that we need to work with clients as partners in a horizontal relationship and exchange opinions.
Because there is no hierarchical relationship, when thinking about what is right for the end user, if you feel something is wrong with the client's measures or way of thinking, you have to point it out and discuss it. To achieve this, you need the knowledge and skills to be able to debate on an equal footing, and it requires effort.
It's also important that people don't worry about me, the CEO. If I'm wrong, I want people to tell me, and the type of work you do is more important than how I evaluate you. People who can do that are doing well, and I hope there will be more people like that.
Message for job seekers
-Finally, please give a message to the job seekers reading this article!
Izawa: I think people who can look at the market and customer needs, and then take responsibility for implementing what is best, are suited to working in commerce media.
For example, as an EC manager, you are expected to produce results, but if you don't improve the product in the first place, it won't sell, and to do that you need people and money, but the company won't give you the OK.
In such cases, we give too much permission. If necessary, we will even get involved in the client's product development, and even in consulting, we don't just talk, we follow through. This requires effort and responsibility, but we welcome those who are able and willing to do so!
