Carpaydiem President CEO's Vision - Founder of Tradecarview, Responsible of global marketing at Rakuten

Evolution from online sales of used cars to shopping mall business

The high quality of Japanese products is recognized all around the world. There are many people from overseas who seek products which have even lost their value after completing their roles in Japan. Carpaydiem Co., Ltd. exports such products to over 90 countries. CEO Nobuaki Chatani talks about his vision as below:

"We operate a shopping mall where you can purchase items that Amazon and Alibaba do not handle or cannot handle with one click. We plan on expanding our business all over the world and aim to grow into a 100 billion yen company."

Carpaydiem's main business is the export of used passenger cars, commercial vehicles, trucks, buses and construction machinery. Carpaydiem started its online sales in 2015, and sales volume has increased at a rate of more than 1.5 times every year. Currently, more than 300 units are exported per month. In the future, suppliers and buyers from all over the world will gather to evolve into a platform, which enables easy and safe transactions.
Firstly, the company plans to build a "shopping mall" system, which allows Japanese used-car dealers to open stores and sell directly to dealers overseas and even to end-users. In each country, the company plans to promote partnerships with local companies such as logistics, maintenance and finance. Compared to other competitors, Carpaydiem has advantages in attracting online customers, deep knowledge of trade regulations that differ from country to country, and market trend research. One of the strengths is that the company can also prevent mistakes and troubles that often occur in international transactions and can even provide consultation on how to proceed with the transactions smoothly.

"The demand for Japanese cars overseas is high, and purchasing a used car from Japan is more cost-effective than buying one locally. Since Japanese people use their cars with care, whether the car has run 100,000 kilometers or the car has been used for 20 years, it is still clean and has few failures. Especially in developing countries where the demand for cars is expected to increase in the future, used cars that will be disposed of in Japan can also play an active role."

Chatani started considering going overseas when he was a college student. Although he had no experience overseas until then, he wished to start a new business where he could travel the world, and he chose a trading company with 100% international sales. However, when he participated in the training for those who received the offer, he noticed that everyone except for him was returnees or those who have studied abroad before. He commented, "That looks really bad, because these people can make a difference from the start". Because of this, he decided to travel abroad before joining the company. Since Chatani grew up playing soccer, he flew to England with a wish to watch the European football up close. Traveling as a backpacker was an exciting and enjoyable experience for Chatani, who also loved world history, and went to France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Through this trip, he experienced the "difference in hobbies and values" between Japan and the world.

The trading company he joined after returning to Japan specialized in exporting used cars overseas. "I worked like a madman every day until midnight," he recalls the time. As a sales person, he pursued how to gain confidence to attract customers and how to respond quickly to their needs. He reached the top sales that earned 2/3 of the company's sales during the first year after joining the company. One year later, the company began to export used cars independently. When he was 24 years old, he went to find new market opportunities by traveling across 30 countries, and was headhunted by Carview, a Softbank Group company. He joined as the Overseas Business Manager and also served as an Executive Officer.