RYOTA IWAFUCHI

Japan Pavilion, Epcot, Walt Disney World
☑Mission
"Maximize revenue and achieve the highest possible operating profit of all restaurants and retail store in Japan Pavilion."
☑Responsibilities
• As an Executive, I formulated and executed business strategies alongside the company's direction.
• Managed a team of 27 managers and a total staff of approximately 250 employees across over 3 restaurants, 5 food kiosks, and 1 retail store.
• Maximized revenue while minimizing administrative (SG&A) expenses to achieve the highest possible operating profit.
• Led and facilitated communications and negotiations with Walt Disney World Epcot executives.
☑Key Achievements
• Achieved 118% year-over-year sales growth and 120% year-over-year operating profit growth in FY2024, recorded for both sales and profit in the company 40-year history.
• Implemented new operational processes, resulting in an 85% reduction in overtime costs for the operations department.
• Achieved top customer satisfaction rankings (No. 1, No. 3, No. 4) among 19 restaurants in Epcot, Walt Disney World.
☑Contributions
• Achieved highest revenue and operating profit with increasing customer satisfaction through in-depth analysis of customer data and informed business planning.
• Close hands-on collaboration with the team on new menu development and product expansion.
• Developed new systematic processes for sales planning and promotions, enabling scalable, long-term operations.
• Established systematic processes for sales planning and promotional activities, ensuring long-term operational independence and scalability.
• Introduced a new team management framework and review cycle, enhancing employee satisfaction and accelerating problem-solving.

☑Mission
"Led domestic and international store renovations, focusing on maximizing revenue and operational efficiency."
☑Responsibilities:
• Led internal investment planning and approvals for renovation projects for domestic and international stores.
• Provided operational support and promoted efficiency improvements to store renovation project managers.
☑Key Achievements:
• Secured full approval for all internal investment projects.
• Achieved a 200% year-over-year increase in construction project acquisitions for department store renovations within the group.
• Optimized reporting & review framework, reducing overtime by 80% and achieving 100% paid leave utilization for store project managers.
☑Contributions:
• Guided construction project acquisitions by advising on goal setting, scheduling, and planning to meet targets.
• Improved operational efficiency through workflow visualization and communication optimization.

Overseas Business Division – MD Department, Planning & Promotion Department

☑Mission:

"Conduct market research for new store openings, develop branding strategies to attract local customers through advertising and promotions, and achieve visitor targets post-launch."

"Increase awareness and sales of cross-border e-commerce (EC) platforms."

"Maximize profitability of local subsidiaries by managing P&L for ASEAN stores."

☑Responsibilities:

①New Store Development in the Philippines Marketing & Sales Promotion Manager / Customer Service Manager

• Project management: Task organization and scheduling for all marketing operations.
• Planning, launching, and managing website and social media platforms.
• Setting rental pricing and creating leasing processes for advertising spaces.
• Planning and executing events and decorations, negotiating with partners.
• Developing and implementing out-of-store advertising, PR movie production, and promotions.
• Implementing and promoting hospitality training programs.

②Cross-Border EC Buyer (China – Lifestyle Products)

• Conducted market research and customer analysis.
  Negotiated business, managed exports, and planned and executed sales promotions and PR campaigns.

③ASEAN Store Operations (Japan-Based Support Role)

• Supported Japanese merchandise development (MD) for overseas stores.
• Managed profit and loss (P&L) for ASEAN subsidiaries.

☑Key Achievements:

①New store development in the Philippines:

• Gained 35,000 SNS followers and 10,000 web members through promotional efforts.
• Consistently exceeded visitor targets by 130% compared to budgeted figures.
• Achieved 300% media exposure vs. budget, won Best Property Award in the Philippines and Asia Best Retail Interior Design Award.
• Conducted hospitality seminars for 600 local tenants, receiving a perfect satisfaction score.

②Cross-border EC in China:

• Achieved 130% year-over-year sales growth in the assigned category.

③ASEAN store operations:

• Contributed to 105% year-over-year increase in operating profit by controlling SG&A expenses.

☑Actions

• Adopted a hands-on management style, actively engaging in on-the-ground operations with both internal and external stakeholders. This approach fostered trust and enabled seamless execution of tasks. Successfully established a unique commercial facility branding by leveraging market research insights to create impactful events and advertisements that showcased local expectations for Japanese products.
• Strengthened live commerce strategies for cross-border EC, directly gathering customer insights and expanding into niche product categories unavailable locally.

Store Creation Group - Store Planning Division
☑Mission:
"Rebranding of the two flagship stores in Japan" ☑Responsibilities
• Branding - Establishing Store Slogans for Flagship Stores
• Implementation of New Merchandising & Event Content in Physical Stores - Conducted market research, competitor and customer analysis. Negotiated transactions, and formulated new business models and strategies.
☑Key Achievements:
• Conducted an employee-wide survey with a 70% response rate, utilizing the results to establish store slogans for two flag ship stores.
• Implemented four new merchandising and event initiatives based on survey findings.
One event's promotional campaign resulted in sold-out pre-sale tickets, and generated JPY 30 million in sales over three days.
☑Contributions:
• Define 'branding' as aligning the customers' perception of the store with the company's desired brand image. Extracted key themes from internal survey results and developed store slogans accordingly.
• Focused on introducing unique merchandise and experiences not typically found in department stores. Negotiated partnerships with approximately 40 companies to bring innovative content to the stores.

Mitsukoshi Rome Store - Fashion Buyer/ Store Manager

☑Mission:

"Revitalization of Mitsukoshi’s last European store, which was struggling with declining sales."

☑Responsibilities

①Management & Business Operations

• Developed business models, strategic plans, and budget plans, overseeing execution and profit & loss (P&L) management.

②Buyer & Marketing

• Conducted market research, competitor analysis, and new brand scouting.
• Led product planning, contract negotiations, purchasing, pricing strategy, and import management.
• Planned and executed sales strategies, promotional campaigns (SNS, website, PR, VMD), and event planning.
  Store Operations & Team Management.
• Implemented Japanese-style hospitality training and staff development programs.
• Managed store operations, personnel allocation, and customer service, including complaint resolution.

☑Key Achievements:

• Reduced SG&A expenses to 95% of the previous year, leading to improved overall corporate profitability.
• Achieved 120% year-over-year sales growth in the assigned category.
• Reduced inventory loss by 90% year-over-year through enhanced stock management.
• Redesigned the store's website and launched official SNS channels.
• Introduced Japanese hospitality training, elevating customer service standards.

☑Actions:

• Successfully optimized SG&A expenses, contributing to corporate profitability expansion.
• Identified the declining share of the existing target customer segment, leading to a complete redefinition of the target audience.
• By replacing 20% of the brands, the number of customers doubled, and sales of newly introduced brands reached 130% of the planned budget.
• Implemented a structured store operation model, assigning specific sales areas to staff, which minimized sales opportunity losses and reduced theft incidents, resulting in a 90% year-over-year reduction in inventory loss.