Maiko Makito co-owner of Pearl Falco was interviewed by SingaLife, a magazine for Japanese people living in Singapore, and interviewed over three sessions. (April 4, 11 and 18, 2019, 3 sessions in total) We are sharing those articles today. (Interviewed by Ms Rie Hatano)
[The Challenge for the daughter taking over traditional family business to share the beauty of pearls from Ise Shima to the world] Vol 1
Are You in the Habit of Wearing Pearls?
For women, pearls are often considered to be “dream jewelry.” Now in this current era, with values and traditions becoming so diversified, the circumstances are evolving. Pearl jewelry may not be as universally popular these days, as it is in other traditional jewelry industries.
Changed Careers from Multinational Company Expatriate to Business Owner
Maiko came to Singapore in 2005. She started to work for NEC Corporation after graduating from university and took charge of SouthEast Asian Markets. Maiko was transferred to its Singapore subsidiary from their Tokyo headquarters. ‘’While working in NEC Singapore, I met my current husband here and got married here in Singapore. The work in NEC was busy, but it was very rewarding.’’
“I’ve been a backpacker since I was a student, and I love traveling to many countries. I crossed the Eurasian continent three times in different ways by land. After I got a job, I dreamed of working in developing countries. However, at that time, there were rare instances of Japanese women becoming expatriates overseas. ‘’I was born and raised in Japan and was monolingual until moving to Singapore. But then I got this chance, so I was very excited to come and work here in Singapore”
“After giving birth, Maiko took maternity leave and returned to work as a local hire in NEC Singapore. However, after that, there was an unexpected opportunity to take over the family business. In Ise Shima – the birthplace of pearl farming, her family business Pearl Falco, had fallen on financial hard times, and her parents were getting older.
“Speaking of pearls in Ise Shima Japan, pearls were a sought-after item and very popular. There was once a time when pearls were integral to Japanese traditional customs and ceremonial occasions. But just as the Japanese economy and demographics have gradually changed, so has the pearl industry.”
“I have one younger sister, and both of us did not want to carry on with the family business because we saw what a difficult business it was. My sister was a doctor and I was abroad. I’m embarrassed to say that I hadn’t really thought about the succession of the family business until now. However, my parents are getting older and they asked me rather suddenly, “Do you want to take over the family business?” For the very first time, we learned that our parents were thinking about selling the business. “If either of you don’t want to take over, we might consider selling it.”
“It wasn’t until I heard those words that I realized the meaning of a ”family business. ” And I thought how my sister and I might not have been able to go to university without this business and all our staff working here, so I decided to take over the family business. I would not be who I am now without my parents, our staff and Pearl Falco. I can’t just let Pearl Falco close down because I don’t want to … “
So from there, Maiko decided to take the initiative. However, it was not at all easy.
[The Challenge for the daughter taking over traditional family business to share the beauty of pearls from Ise Shima to the world] Vol 2
For women, pearls are often considered to be “dream jewelry.” Now in this current era, with values and traditions becoming so diversified, the circumstances are evolving, and there are many companies struggling to sell pearls.
Fighting the Pressure
“Turned from an expatriate, Maiko decided to take the helm of her parents’ company. Her family business is making pearl jewelry using locally cultured pearls and managing retail shops and galleries to sell in Ise Shima, the birthplace of cultured pearls. The number of employees has been reduced by restructuring. She needs to be responsible for the company’s staffs’ livelihoods and their families. Maiko was surprised by the big differences between working for a big company and running her own business, not to mention the pressure. “When I worked for a big company, the company had a big brand, with many people collaborating together, with enough capital to try out new ideas. But now, I have to do “everything” with limited resources and capital.”
Until now her company sold pearl jewelry at their own shops, in galleries and online, but she said, “most important for us to share our knowledge about pearls, how to differentiate pearls and what the real value of pearls are ” I’m trying to do my best to increase our visibility and build up the Pearl Falco brand through events and shows.’’
“In 2018, we launched the first jewelry competition in Ise Shima ‘The Grand Prix of Akoya Pearl Jewellery’. We supply Akoya Pearl to students, amateurs, designers and craftspeople, so that they can create pearl jewelry. Those creations are exhibited in our gallery and voting is open to the public including residents, visitors and many tourists from all over Japan to Ise Shima. Last year, we had a total of 152 entries from 9 countries, with about 5,000 votes tallied.”
“Maiko explained, “We plan on holding the event again this year, and online voting is also planned. I want more people to know about pearls and feel familiar with pearls.“ Maiko is still striving, but she is gradually gaining a sense of satisfaction in her challenge.
[The Challenge for the daughter taking over traditional family business to share the beauty of pearls from Ise Shima to the world] Vol 3
“I used to work for a big company. but now everything is at my discretion and responsibility. I do the planning and execution by myself. Although it’s a heavy responsibility, and some decisions are difficult, it can be very rewarding sometimes.” She said.
“At first, I didn’t know how to register a company in Singapore, how to import pearl jewellery or even how to rent a shop. The difference between working for a big company and running my own business was a great challenge for me. The transition was not at all easy or smooth. But I had no choice but to figure out how to do it. It is difficult to learn how to do everything by myself and build from such limited resources, but recently, I have been finding the learning process extremely rewarding.”
“Unlike diamonds, pearls are cultivated and cultured in nature with people’s love and devotion. No two pearls are alike, like each and everyone of us, so the criteria to define the value may be unclear. That is why I would like to explain how to differentiate pearls or what factors help to determine a pearl’s value. After a while, several customers began to encourage me, “There are many jewelry companies, but I want to buy from you,” and I started to get inquiries to give lectures about pearls at design schools and seminars.“
“It hasn’t been easy. As mentioned earlier, people value pearls differently than they did in the past. There was a time when pearls played an integral role in Japanese customs and ceremonial occasions, but now pearls are not for everyone. There was once a time when “Ise Shima Pearls” were sold by name recognition alone, but the times have changed.”
“Many younger people in Japan are not aware that Ise-Shima is the birthplace of cultured pearls. In addition, once upon a time, native Japanese tourists would flock to Ise Shima to visit Ise Shrine, the birthplace of the Shinto religion, and buy pearls in Ise Shima as souvenirs or gifts.
“While our existing customers and clients continue to be very supportive and repeatedly purchase gifts for their daughters, daughters-in-law and grandchildren, Pearl Falco will need to find another customer base to continue moving forward. Not only that, but now hiring young people in Ise Shima is becoming more challenging, as many younger folks move to the big cities for work. I feel we must work very hard to expand our sales channels to continue to thrive.“
“As part of that, I’m devoting a lot of my time to organizing events like the “The Grand Prix of Akoya Pearl Jewellery in Ise Shima” as mentioned in Vol 2, give lectures about pearls at schools or seminars, and organizing workshops in Singapore or Asia. I have only just started exploring these options.”
“Now I’m visiting various countries, especially in Asia, to promote pearls, and I’ve increased activities such as pearl workshops and lectures at jewelry schools, so I can share the value of pearls to more people. I would like more people to better understand how to distinguish pearls and to feel more familiar with pearls so that they can be better informed when selecting pearls. And I want to find people to collaborate with so we can work on projects with shared values and vision.”
Maiko’s challenge to share the beauty of pearls from Ise Shima to the world has just started.
Maiko Makito: Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Keio University in 1999. After joining NEC Corporation, she took charge of the Southeast Asia market in the overseas sales group.
In 2005, transferred to NEC Singapore. After resigning from NEC in 2016 , she took over her family business in Ise Shima and continues to strive to build the business and expand sales.