Japan

I only learned about Den Fujita later in life, but —what a legend!

His entrepreneurial genius brought McDonalds Japan and turned it into a giant business in 🇯🇵

Here’s a quick 🧵 about him and the full article:

I only learned about Den Fujita later in life, but —what a legend!

His entrepreneurial genius brought McDonalds Japan and turned it into a giant business in 🇯🇵

Here’s a quick 🧵 about him and the full article: https://paragraph.com/@beecurious/den-fujita-the-hamburger-king-of-japan?referrer=0xa41D122e16a993FEf59f6A3F134F587c2295e9B4

Founder of /farcastea
Newsletter for Japan: https://paragraph.xyz/@beecurious
Podcast:https://open.spotify.com/show/1542Ivs82TOVLcfPVEoFoP?si=2dc
Hosting /japan

2/ He was offered a job at the Ministry of Finance, which was (and still is) a big deal!

But he said:
“They don’t want to do anything new, and I don’t want to do anything that’s been done before.”

3/ In 1950, he started Fujita Shoten, importing luxury goods like Christian Dior and Longchamp bags.
It wasn’t until 1971 that he entered the fast food world.

He first tried McDonalds in the U.S. in 1967. Loved the taste.
But when he brought it to Japan, he negotiated hard:
>Full autonomy on decision making for Japan market
>Lower royalties (2% instead of the usual 5% )
>A 50:50 partnership with McDonald’s Japan

4/ Key to his success:

>Taking to taxi drivers: He didn’t rely on fancy reports, instead he always took a taxi. Called them “walking business intelligence.”

>Always taking notes :
Fujita was a meticulous note-taker, a habit he developed after meeting the Jewish sergeant who introduced him to finance. He recorded everything he saw and heard, believing that detailed notes were key to success.

5/ Some of his quotes were very bold:

“The Japanese are hardworking but weak, small, and pale. I thought we had to strengthen ourselves. That’s when I thought of beef.” 

“In business, the only justice is winning. There is no clean or dirty money. In a capitalist society, all ways of making money are acceptable.”

6/
Despite these controversies, Fujita remained a business icon in Japan. He was globally recognized, appearing on Late Night with David Letterman in 1985, and in 1986, he was honored with the Blue Ribbon Award from Emperor Hirohito for his contributions to business.

https://youtu.be/nE9xrt3DUvg

7/
One thing I found really fascinating was his leadership style. At McDonald’s Japan, he added a March bonus to the usual July and December ones.

But not just for employees—it was for their WIVES too. He believed if wives received a bonus, they’d motivate their husbands to work harder.

8/ 
Den Fujita didn’t just introduce burgers—he introduced a new way of doing business in Japan. And I think more people need to hear his story.

Read here the full article and if you like it please subscribe:

8/ 
Den Fujita didn’t just introduce burgers—he introduced a new way of doing business in Japan. And I think more people need to hear his story.

Read here the full article and if you like it please subscribe: https://paragraph.com/@beecurious

1/ Life Story: He was born in Osaka, to a Christian mother and a father who worked as an electrical engineer for a British company.

He got into Tokyo University—one of the hardest schools to enter in Japan which he did not enjoy it a lot but did it anyway.