sales

INTERVIEW #01

"Alcohol Connects People". We build trust and exceed expectations.

Kosuke Hikichi

Sales

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Interview#01 Sales

Q1.

How did you join the company?

My motivation for joining the company was that many graduates from my alma mater, Sendai Commercial High School, were employed at Kanesa Fujiwaraya, and I became interested in wholesale alcohol sales after talking with these seniors. Additionally, having belonged to the baseball club during my student days, the fact that it was "a job involving physical activity" was also a deciding factor. I also thought it would be cool if I could acquire knowledge about alcohol and talk about it as an expert to various people in the future. After joining, I started my career with delivery operations in Sendai City, and subsequently had opportunities to interact with many customers at locations in Aomori and Fukushima Prefectures. While working in different regions presented challenges such as dialect differences, these experiences ultimately allowed me to greatly improve my communication skills and product knowledge.

Q2.

What is your current affiliation and duties?

Currently, I am assigned to the Fukushima Branch. I handle route delivery and sales, with my main duties being product guidance for customers, sales activities for new customer development, and business negotiations. During route deliveries, I always pay attention to recent sales trends and product surpluses or shortages while delivering products. When there are requests from restaurant customers, I make it a point to respond promptly in my work.

Q3.

Please tell us what you value in your work.

I particularly value "responding to customers without making them wait." This is also one of my affirmations (*positive declarations I recite daily to achieve my goals). When working in the field, I constantly hear from customers. Making them wait might cause negative emotions such as anxiety or anger. To prevent this, I prioritize communication with prompt responses. I believe this benefits the customers, the company, and myself.

Q4.

When do you feel “rewarded”?

When customers express their gratitude. When I quickly respond to and resolve problems, receiving words of thanks and smiles from customers truly makes me happy. I also feel a sense of accomplishment when customers like products I've introduced and add them to their restaurant menus. The realization that I'm contributing to customers' businesses motivates me in my work.

Q5.

What has been your most memorable
episode so far?

I consider my transfer from the delivery department in Sendai to Motomiya City in Fukushima Prefecture a major turning point. I was quite anxious as I began my first serious sales position, with significant changes in both environment and job content. However, thanks to the thoughtful guidance of my supervisors and senior colleagues, I was able to grow gradually. Through this experience, I realized the enjoyment of challenging new things and gained a renewed appreciation for Kanesa Fujiwaraya's collaborative corporate culture.

Q6.

What do you like about the company and its atmosphere?

The natural increase in knowledge about alcohol is definitely appealing. Since I personally enjoy alcohol, I find it very attractive to have an environment where I can connect with the vision of breweries and producers and handle various products. I often receive direct feedback from customers, taste products myself, and enjoy lively discussions about alcohol with customers. Deepening my knowledge through these experiences is one of the interesting aspects of this job. Kanesa Fujiwaraya has many unique individuals, and I feel it's truly an interesting company! Working with such distinctive colleagues is very stimulating.

Q7.

Finally, what are your future challenges?

Kanesa Fujiwaraya currently has offices in all six prefectures of Tohoku. Recognizing that having offices throughout the Tohoku region is a major strength that other companies don't have, I want to create a system where we can all share information about best-selling products and seasonal sake in each prefecture to further leverage this advantage. Specifically, I think that by identifying notable product candidates in each prefecture and creating flyers tailored to regional characteristics, we can contribute to sales activities, improve sales, and make cold calling new prospects easier. Through such initiatives, I want to contribute to the growth of the entire company!

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