The surprising strategy of the manager who created “Shuri Soap” from a call center to a global brand originating from Okinawa | Forbes JAPAN Official Site (Forbes Japan)

The skin care business, which was launched to create a place where female employees can play an active role, is rapidly growing. What does a president from outside the prefecture who loves Okinawa continue to do to make his employees shine?

“I was saved by Okinawa. The reason I’m trying to create a global brand from Okinawa is because I want to give back to the island.”

Kyosuke Ogata of Caucus, which runs the skin care brand Shuri Soap, spoke emphatically. Shuri Soap, which was born in 2016, quickly gained popularity and tripled its sales in three years even as the number of tourists to Okinawa decreased due to the coronavirus pandemic. They are also opening stores overseas, and are on the verge of becoming a global brand originating from Okinawa.

“Umikaji Terrace Gallery Shop” is a directly managed store located in the commercial facility “Senagajima Umikaji Terrace” near Naha Airport, Okinawa Prefecture. The store is located in an excellent location overlooking the beautiful sea, and the store is always crowded with customers.

Ogata has a tanned face and looks good in a T-shirt and shorts, but he is actually from outside the prefecture. He was the editor-in-chief of a mail-order magazine in Tokyo, but he was exhausted by the lack of time to breathe. A friend of his asked me to work with him at a new advertising agency in Okinawa, and I decided to move there.

I fell in love with Okinawa right away. However, he lost his job within six months. In order to earn a living, he started working as a “road vendor,” selling souvenirs to tourists on the street.

“Street vendors have their own territory.However, Okinawans are very tolerant and don’t turn a blind eye to backpackers who sell misanga to earn money from their travels.”After the rain, women working at the public market sell unsold items. There were times when she saw it and bought it for me, saying, “I can’t sell it today. Let’s take one.” I felt like this is where I belong.”

However, the business of street vendors is unstable. At that time, I had a chance and decided to become the representative of a certain call center. Nine years later, he started his own company called Caucus.

Caucus’ call center business is unique. Typically, call centers are operated using efficiency indicators such as the number of calls handled per hour. On the other hand, Caucus has set a KPI of “thank you rate,” which indicates the percentage of incoming calls that are thanked. In order to increase this, we recommend long phone calls, which are actually inefficient.

Call center within the head office. Many women are active. (Courcus provided)

“When I was a street vendor, I would throw hibiscus flowers in front of tourists to make them stop and ask them, “Where are you from?” “What did you eat in Okinawa?” The purchase rate is higher, and they become repeat customers who say, “I’m here again.” It’s better for call center clients to keep coming back.”

Improving the thank you rate had a big effect on things other than gaining clients’ fans. Being appreciated by customers increases the job satisfaction of operators and reduces the turnover rate. In fact, Caucus has also put effort into making it easier for operators to work, such as establishing an in-house daycare center and reducing the number of Saturday and Sunday operations in an industry where working 365 days a year is the norm. For Ogata, who believes that “if workers are not happy, they will not be able to serve customers with a smile,” the happiness of his employees is as important as profits.