No. 35: 拠点の数より、拠点がカバーする面積 (December 7, 2009)
2年前のマンション供給全国トップの穴吹工務店が会社更生法の適用を申請した。新聞報道で、この工務店の本社が高松にあるのを知った人も多いと思われる。この建設会社は、1994年から、大都市より四国や九州などの地方中核都市にターゲットを絞り、比較的低価格のマンションを大量供給して飛躍的に成長した。2001年時点では、拠点は41都府県に77営業所に広がった。これは、実質的には日本全国の総てをカバーしたことを意味する。このような戦略をとる中堅企業は多い。しかし、各拠点が地域で十分なシェアを有していないと危険な戦略であり、景気が悪くなると、人件費と販売管理費を稼ぐのに苦労をする。当初は、地方の中核都市をターゲットにしても、拠点数を増やすだけでなく、各拠点がカバーする面積を増やし、面と面をつなぐ努力をする必要がある。少ない兵力をアジア各国に分散し、各地で部隊を孤立させて敗戦に突進していった日本陸軍の間違いを知るべきある。 (Written by Shigeo Sunahara of CBC, Inc.)
No. 35: What is important is the area covered by bases not the number of bases. (December 7, 200)
Anabuki Construction that was the largest construction company in terms of the number of apartments sold two years ago filed for protection under the bankruptcy law. Many people presumably knew from newspaper reporting for the first time that this company is headquartered not in Tokyo or Osaka but in Takamatsu in Shikoku. The company started to record a remarkable growth in 1994 by selling relatively inexpensive apartments in large quantity mainly in major urban areas in Shikoku and Kyushu. In 2001, it had 77 bases in 41 prefectures. This means that it covered virtually every prefecture of the country. We can find many medium-sized companies that devise the same strategy, namely, they try to cover from the northernmost Hokkaido to the southernmost Okinawa Prefecture. However, it is a risky strategy susceptible to economic setback if each base fails to get a substantial share. It will become rather hard to cover labor cost and selling and administrative expenses when economy gets worse sharply. Even if a company targets local urban areas in the initial stage, it should make efforts to increase the area covered by each base and enlarge the whole territory by connecting bases, instead of merely increasing the number of bases. It is important to understand the mistake that Japanese Imperial Army made in World War II. It deployed small amount of military forces sparsely and extensively in Asia. It went straight to defeat in the war because it isolated each military unit in Asia without any support.
No. 35: What is important is the area covered by bases not the number of bases. (December 7, 200)
Anabuki Construction that was the largest construction company in terms of the number of apartments sold two years ago filed for protection under the bankruptcy law. Many people presumably knew from newspaper reporting for the first time that this company is headquartered not in Tokyo or Osaka but in Takamatsu in Shikoku. The company started to record a remarkable growth in 1994 by selling relatively inexpensive apartments in large quantity mainly in major urban areas in Shikoku and Kyushu. In 2001, it had 77 bases in 41 prefectures. This means that it covered virtually every prefecture of the country. We can find many medium-sized companies that devise the same strategy, namely, they try to cover from the northernmost Hokkaido to the southernmost Okinawa Prefecture. However, it is a risky strategy susceptible to economic setback if each base fails to get a substantial share. It will become rather hard to cover labor cost and selling and administrative expenses when economy gets worse sharply. Even if a company targets local urban areas in the initial stage, it should make efforts to increase the area covered by each base and enlarge the whole territory by connecting bases, instead of merely increasing the number of bases. It is important to understand the mistake that Japanese Imperial Army made in World War II. It deployed small amount of military forces sparsely and extensively in Asia. It went straight to defeat in the war because it isolated each military unit in Asia without any support.
