Mitsui Essay ⋆ Business Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui), is a Japanese company with headquarters in Tokyo. Its main business areas are mineral resources and energy, global marketing, consumer services, and infrastructure; its workforce numbers 42,621 employees worldwide in 161 offices in 68 countries. As of March 31, 2008, it reported gross profits of 988.1 billion Japanese yen and net income of 410.06 billion Japanese yen.

Mitsui & Co., Ltd.’s main business units range from manufacturing and import/export to retail and financial services. Mitsui is currently diversifying in services, exploring for and developing natural resources, and developing new technologies and businesses. Mitsui’s global network is organized to access essential strategic information and business engineering capabilities. “Comprehensive business engineering capabilities” as defined by Mitsui are real-time information on customers and markets; know-how and sophisticated specialties; trust among business associates worldwide; and problem-solving capabilities.

Dai-ichi Bussan was established in 1947 with JPY 195,000 in capital and 39 employees. The company took the name Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui Bussan in Japanese) in 1959 when it integrated with other trading companies, thereby returning to its Mitsui origins. Mitsui & Co. was originally the trading company arm of the pre–World War II business group known as the House of Mitsui (established in 1673), which was founded as a dry goods store called Echigoya (now the Mitsukoshi Department Store) in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, by Hachirobei Takatoshi Mitsui. Mitsui & Co. was seen as a model and had a major influence on other trading companies in Japan.

Mitsui & Co. has a long history in mining and mineral extraction and as a source of reputable international business information and services for firms entering new markets. During the 1960s when the Japanese economy was growing rapidly, Mitsui’s trading and mining units helped meet the demand for foodstuffs, industrial raw materials, and energy such as oil and coal. The firm also worked to build efficient systems to manage raw materials from extraction to finished product. As Japan’s—and the world’s—markets have evolved, Mitsui has used its extensive international network to build new businesses in, e.g., training engineers, supplying skills and know-how, and developing high-technology networks and communications services. The firm’s major projects are in mineral resources, liquid natural gas, oil, hydroelectric power, wind power, and automotive-related businesses. Mitsui is also actively developing infrastructure projects to access natural resources and/or to provide methods for transportation from source to customer.

Mitsui focuses on four main areas of business: mineral resources and energy; global marketing; consumer services; and infrastructure. The company has 121 major subsidiaries and associated companies worldwide, which serve a range of industries with operations spanning the globe.

Mitsui’s subsidiaries and associated companies are distributed as follows: iron and steel products (8 companies); mineral and metal resources (13 companies); infrastructure projects (12 companies); motor vehicles (10 companies); marine and aerospace (3 companies); chemicals (19 companies); food and retail (11 companies); consumer services (18 companies); IT business (7 companies); financial markets (6 companies); transportation logistics (5 companies); and Americas (6 companies). In addition, there are other units working to develop new businesses regionally in the Asia-Pacific and in new industries.

In fiscal year 2007, Mitsui & Co. divested several energy and mineral (i.e., titanium) operations due to unfavorable market conditions. These gains offset the softening residential, energy, and steel products in the Americas units affected by the subprime mortgage crisis.

Led by Shoei Utsuda, president and chief executive officer, Mitsui & Co. issued in 2002 a corporate guideline for its employees called “Mitsui & Co. Aspirations.” The aspirations comprise four concepts: serving customers’ best interests; placing trust at the foundation of business; working in the spirit of “freedom and open-mindedness”; and being a truly global corporation. Mitsui’s corporate mission is to “contribute to a future where the dreams of the inhabitants of our irreplaceable Earth can be fulfilled,” and its vision is “to become a global business enabler that can meet the needs of our customers throughout the world.”

Bibliography:

Makoto Kasuya, “Continuity and Change in the Employment and Promotion of Japanese White-Collar Employees: The Case of the House of Mitsui,” Enterprise and Society (v.6/2, 2005);
Mitsui & Co., Ltd., “Results of Fiscal Year Ended March 2008 and Outlook for Fiscal Year Ending March 2009,” May 9, 2008, www.mitsui.co.jp (cited March 2009);
Seiichiro Yonekura, “Introduction,” in The General Trading Companies: A Comparative and Historical Study, Seiichiro Yonekura, ed. (United Nations University Press, 1990).

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