Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd
Kindergarteners and older customers at a hinamatsuri (Girls’ Day) event (Motivation Delivery Project)
The Yakult Group enjoys a close connection to local communities through Yakult Ladies thanks to our home delivery system. Based on its corporate vision and management philosophy, Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd. strives to contribute to a better local community by working with various stakeholders to connect local people.
An event at a Yakult sales center
The president’s Customer Appreciation Day event to express gratitude to each customer
In 2009, Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd. established its corporate vision “Healthy and beautiful. Your partner in creating a happy and healthy life,” and a supporting corporate philosophy. To realize that vision, we regularly run the Mito Visionary Project to improve awareness among workers, and have them take concrete actions for our customers.
One example of such actions is the Customer Appreciation Day event, an initiative where we invite customers for a meal together to express our gratitude. It began at one of our delivery centers, but has spread and now takes place at all of them. Additionally, we have made area satisfaction (AS) the champion cause within our CEA’S to garner support and be viewed as an essential part of the local community.
We know the local community very well through our Yakult Ladies, and I believe we have a responsibility to connect people within it. Through Customer Appreciation Days and other events, I have personally met over 500 customers, and learned that a number of them possess various special skills. In recent years we have thus begun the Motivation Delivery Project to create a place for customers to gain motivation using their special skills.
In one specific example, we held a gift exchange event where we asked older customers with a talent for handicrafts to make felt toy vegetables for local kindergartens lacking in toys.
Moving forward, we would like to further expand initiatives that connect people in our local community.
Manabu Naito
President and Representative Director Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd.
Left:
Kahori Yonekawa
Senior Center Manager Home Delivery Department Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd.
Right:
Keiko Sato
Assistant Manager Home Delivery Department Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd.
We spoke with employees at the Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd. Shirosato Center.
“We hold various events every year, like our 2017 Children’s Support Bazaar that was attended by nearly 100 customers. We’d like to not only function as a base for Yakult Lady sales, but also as a local community center that brings customers together.”
Keiko Sato
Assistant Manager Home Delivery Department, Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd.
“Through home delivery, Yakult Ladies bear responsibility for the safety of both customers and the local community. Yakult Ladies visit customers every week and are quick to notice any subtle changes. At this center, there was an incident where a Yakult Lady sensed something wrong in a customer’s voice over the intercom at their house. She recommended seeing a doctor, and the customer was then hospitalized. I believe we notice changes in our customers because we’re genuinely concerned about them. This center is located in an area where many older people live alone, and we’ll continue striving to be alert while promoting sales activities.”
Kahori Yonekawa
Senior Center Manager Home Delivery Department, Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd.
A health-related lecture
(Held on May 24, 2018 at the Eastern Community Center in Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture)
Since 2005, Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd. has hosted health-related lectures for older people on topics such as the function of the intestines and immunity, dementia, and lifestyle diseases. The company also has an area where people can exercise, and hold their own “Laughter Yoga” classes and other programs that provide information on health in a fun way. In 2017 activities were also held at each center.
Yakult Mito Sales Co., Ltd. supports women’s empowerment, and a woman holds the role of supervisor overseeing the delivery center areas. In 2016 the company launched the Full-time Employee Switch System to encourage Yakult Ladies to become full-time employees. Their goal is to someday soon have someone who started out as a Yakult Lady becomes a director of the company.
Chizuko Yanaka
Customer
Saori Shindo
Yakult Lady
ibaraki Kensei NS Center
Working as a Yakult Lady for
about 8 years
Ms. Yanaka: “When I first met Ms. Shindo, I had been suffering from memory problems after an illness and was feeling really down. She was very cheerful and always smiling, and gave me encouragement when going outside felt too troublesome for me. Before I knew it, I wanted to keep pushing on until the next time she came to visit. She fills me with energy.”
Ms. Shindo: “I had just become a Yakult Lady and was nervous at that time, but Ms. Yanaka was thoughtful and kind. She actually also gives me encouragement, and I always look forward to seeing her.”
