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Point 2
How Much Strength Will Sogo Shosha Be Able to Exhibit as Coordinator? |
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| While it is expected that the standing of the sogo shosha within the Japanese economy will continue to decline, a possible role that it can play within the economy in order to apply brakes to its fall is as coordinator. By drawing on its knowledge and experience in such areas as market cultivation, resource development, information provision, financing, human resources provision, risk management, and legal affairs - know-how that is necessary for unearthing or launching new businesses - sogo shosha will be able to create new added-value. It may involve cutting-edge high-tech areas such as IT and biotechnology, or in the case of the traditional retail industry, it may be about how they can support supermarkets and convenience stores and enable them to come out ahead of competitors. |
Head Office of Dentsu Inc., the leading advertising agency , at Shiodome Area, Tokyo |
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Other possibilities may be how they can establish business models that focus not on companies, as in the past, but on the software side by focusing on general consumers. Another is how a bridgehead can be established in the significantly growing Chinese market in order to avoid being overcome by Western rivals. The key to the development of such growth strategies is dependant on how much coordinating function capabilities, unique to sogo shosha, can be exhibited. The view is that only a few of the major sogo shosha, such as Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsui & Co., will be able to display their strengths in such coordinating functions. |
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Point 3
Will Specialized Trading Companies Find a Path to Survival through Alliances with Foreign Capital? |
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While some specialized trading companies are trying to find a means of survival through mergers with other trading companies, there are also an increasing number of companies that are beginning to seek a path for survival through alliances or distributor agreements with foreign capital companies.
Toyo Corporation, which is a specialized trading company, has concluded an exclusive distributorship agreement with Dilithium Networks, an American measuring instrument manufacturer for 3G (third generation) mobile phones. The company has already commenced marketing activities. This agreement was tied in line with Dilithium Network's advancement into the Japanese market. The measuring instrument being handled by Toyo is a device used to confirm whether call data originating from a mobile phone overseas can be accurately sent or received. Toyo aims to gain a one-step lead over other companies by focusing on the global spread of 3G mobile phone services. Cases of such alliances with foreign capital companies should be increasing by great amounts from now on. |
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