Export challenges
It’s tempting for Australian exporters to look at emerging markets that are set to grow, rather than a mature, competitive market like Japan, but Masamune reminds businesses that our 50-year trading history provides a ready partner and an easy trade platform for exporters.
But Australia does have to leave some of its preconceived ideas about the Japanese consumer behind, she warns. “You couldn’t sit around and say, like you could 10 to 15 years ago, that all Japanese are middle class and they’re all homogenous and they generally all behave in this way—they don’t any more. There has been a significant diversifying of the market, which just makes it a bit more complex.”
We must also evolve our value proposition and be careful not to take the market for granted, she advises: “The worst thing an exporter can do is say ‘my product’s selling pretty well, I’m just going to sit and forget’.”
Finally, Masamune says we mustn’t forget that Japan is a global economy. “There’s a lot more opportunity for Australia and Japan to work together in Asia where we both have significant manufacturing, service and sales networks,” she points out. “We have a presence across the region and we could definitely work in partnership on various projects.”
Doing it differently
- Look at the regional economies. “The Osaka economy alone has a GDP twice the size of Australia,” says Masamune.
- Find the crossover. Start looking at getting into a different industry segment or user base than you might have already acquired.
- Go low. Low cost fashion, at a quality level the Japanese will accept, is becoming increasingly popular.
- Aim high. There are still a lot of wealthy consumers in Japan: they constitute about a third of the world’s luxury market.
- Go online. “Online sales are taking off. Rakuten is their version of Amazon and they’re making a mint,” says Masamune.
CASE STUDY: LINC Media
Japan, 1983: Two well-known electronic brands, a major patent dispute and huge amounts of money. The action made a lasting impact in Japan, says Terrie Lloyd, CEO of LINC Media, a business incubation company: “These days it’s hard to find Japanese companies, especially major ones, engaged in IP theft.”
For more than 26 years, Lloyd has run several businesses that provide information or services to foreign software, biotech and media companies accessing or looking to access to the Japanese market.
“We’re basically a pre-sales company, so we go out and find distributors for the companies to sell their product in Japan,” he says.
With more foreign businesses entering the country over the years, Lloyd says it’s not difficult to set up shop in Japan but relationships on the ground make it easier, especially if you have a local representative: “Having a local partner to set up the company originally is usually cheaper and quicker.”
Lloyd represents biotech companies that have significant need for IP protection, and he says this is where patenting becomes vital. But patenting is not just about protection when doing business in Japan; it also makes these businesses more attractive to Japanese firms. “It’s a valuable commercial asset when you’re going in and negotiating terms.”
Armed with a patent attorney, registering patents for clients in Japan is pretty simple but can be expensive. Lloyd suggests businesses first consider the commercial viability of the product, and ask whether it’s worth the expense.
He also recommends ensuring your patent is strong. “Japanese companies are very competitive, so if you have a weak patent, they will exploit it,” he says.
Lloyd encourages Australian businesses looking to enter Japan, saying there are many opportunities for new and exciting ideas. “The Japanese are somewhat bound in tradition. There are risk-takers here, but not as many as there would be in other countries, so it’s not that hard for a free-thinking, non-Japanese to do business here,” he says.
—Case study supplied by IP Australia (www.ipaustralia.gov.au)
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