Kurabo Industries Ltd. (Kurabo)

Kurabo Industries Ltd., known as Kurabo, is a diversified manufacturer founded in 1888 in Kurashiki, Okayama, with its head office in Osaka. It started from a textile business and today operates across textiles, chemicals, environmental mechatronics, electronics and biomedical fields. It supplies a wide range of products and technologies, including polyurethane foam, functional films, automotive and housing components, inspection and measurement equipment and environmental plants, and is involved in social infrastructure.

What led to the India expansion

We did get inquiries at local trade shows, but cases kept ending before they turned into business. Judging that we needed to redesign our communication in line with local business practice and rebuild a sales scheme (commercial flow and terms) that translates into actual sales, we asked So Japan for support.

Impressions of the India market

We see it as a market where communication easily becomes complicated, and where the difficulty lies in judging which customers and partners genuinely lead to purchases and in patiently building relationships with them.

With flame-retardant materials in particular, buyer meetings tend to stall when understanding of standards, testing and certification, and of the adoption process, is shallow.

What we put into practice for the India expansion

So Japan took part from the stage of laying out the sales potential of flame-retardant materials in the Indian market. Specifically, by narrowing down the industries and applications to target and researching the competitive situation, price ranges and commercial flow, this was turned into a proposal story and proposal materials that hold up in the Indian market.

On that basis, we laid out the division of roles across direct sales, distributors and partners, and drew up a sales scheme that came with a design of trading terms including import and payment. Alongside that, So Japan supported us end to end, from developing local customers and creating buyer meetings through to running the booth at trade shows.

The India expansion from here

Going forward, our plan is to work out a sales scheme that fits the local commercial flow in India, put trading terms including import and payment in place, and build a structure in which business runs continuously. Alongside that, starting from trade show exhibiting and the local network, we will steadily widen our customers in areas such as workwear, casual apparel and home interiors, and strengthen the path from opportunity to order.

Comments from the So Japan team

Nishida, CEO

In India, trust in Japanese quality and materials is strong, and there is definitely a group of people drawn to Japanese manufacturing. Workwear and apparel in particular are areas where functionality, durability and peace of mind translate directly into value, and I feel that Kurabo's flame-retardant materials can answer what local brands expect when they say they want to raise safety or to differentiate.

In home interiors as well, demand that puts weight on safety and quality is growing steadily. By laying out the requirements for being adopted locally and putting in place distribution and payment mechanisms that make buying easy, it should be possible to expand in a way that people in India also choose with conviction. I have a real sense of traction and high expectations for how this spreads from here.

Minerva, India sales

To deepen our understanding of the Indian market, we attended a workwear trade show in India and got a map out of competitor activity, leading customers and the reality of the local market. We also visited NITRA (Northern Indian Textile Research Association) and gathered information directly on the various testing standards and test methods used in India. That deepened our understanding of testing systems and evaluation processes that differ from those in Japan.

In addition to conventional research methods, we have brought in less standard approaches as well, such as using social media to research the workwear brands that have a following in India.

If you are wrestling with sales channel development or on-the-ground marketing in India, feel free to talk to So Japan. the India shift among Japanese chemical makers and Ota TOKYO India trade show report is also worth referring to.