Kazumasa Koshiba
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Chiba in 1931, he graduated from Waseda University in March 1953 and joined Isetan in April that year. He became manager of the Shinjuku main store in 1974, Director and General Manager of Merchandising in February 1977, and in September 1978 Managing Director serving as deputy head of sales and General Manager of Merchandising. A career employee who consistently worked in sales floors and merchandise, he was Senior Managing Director just before becoming President.
Selection
On May 10, 1993, Kuniyasu Kosuge of the founding family resigned and stepped back to honorary chairman, and Koshiba was promoted from Senior Managing Director. The honorary chairman post was not in the articles of incorporation and came without representative authority, and the move was seen as effectively taking responsibility. Shuwa had bought up about 28% of issued shares, closing off fundraising through new share issues, and interest-bearing debt had swollen from ¥48.3 billion at the end of the fiscal year ended March 1990 to ¥118.3 billion at the end of the FY ended March 1993. The appointment was proposed by Chairman Shigeharu Mukai, formerly of Mitsubishi Bank, and decided unanimously by the five officers with representative authority.
Initiatives
On July 20, 1993, two months after taking office, he declared a return to retailing's original form of earning money by taking on the risk of losses itself. To differentiate from competitors, he also said he would expand and strengthen trading methods such as outright purchase of all merchandise. The pillars of the new three-year plan were rebuilding the core department store business and reviewing investment plans, and his first task was to go around apologizing to business partners for cancelling the planned store in the Odaiba area. The first net loss since listing came in the fiscal year ended March 1996, caused by an extraordinary loss of ¥34.3 billion related to Barneys. In the September 1996 renovation of the Shinjuku main store, the company read customers' shopping sequences from I Card purchase data and rearranged merchandise layout accordingly.
Career
Career
Isetan
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| May 1993 | Representative Director, President |
References 2
References (Japanese primary sources)
- 日本企業要覧 1979年版
- 日経ビジネス 1997年11月号「編集長インタビュー 小柴和正氏［伊勢丹社長］」