Mizutani Reflects on Hall of Fame Career

Tomo Mizutani, chairman emeritus of Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc., has been instrumental in many notable achievements during his 33-year tire industry career. 

Under his leadership, Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc.  grew from a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy when he joined to a thriving corporation with nearly $1 billion in annual revenue.

Mizutani was an early – and very successful – adaptor of social media and digital marketing.

He has been a longstanding champion of Japanese-American business relationships, which has earned him various honors, including the International Citizen Award from the Japan America Society.

And he recently was named to the Tire Industry Hall of Fame.

In this MTD exclusive, Mizutani looks back on his career, discussing how he he revitalized Nitto, the changes he's seen in the tire industry and more. (Editor's note: for a full, unabridged version of this interview, see the Modern Tire Dealer Show podcast episode, “Interview with a Hall of Famer,” available on www.moderntiredealer.com and various podcast platforms.)

MTD: How does it feel to be a member of the Tire Industry Hall of Fame?

Mizutani: It’s beyond my dream and I feel extremely honored.

MTD: How did you get your start in the tire industry?

Mizutani: After graduating from college, I began my career at a major Japanese trading house, where HR placed me in the tire division. At that time, I had little say in the matter and was not particularly enthusiastic about the mandate. In hindsight, what began as  a mandate grew into a remarkable, rewarding career path that proved far greater than I could have imagined.

MTD: What made you decide to come to the U.S.?

Mizutani: I was the person in charge of the rest of the world, except U.S. and Japan, in mainly mining tires. I had no idea about the U.S. market. Then the company bought a company called Tire Masters. Unfortunately, Tire Masters was not doing well. At that time, I had a great competitive record in my territory and management decided that, ‘Even though that guy is young and has no experience in the U.S, let him handle it. He may have an interesting way to fix that issue.’

MTD: What do you remember about your fist tire industry job in the U.S.? Was it easier or more difficult than you thought it would be?

Mizutani: It was extremely difficult. Our tire was a red ocean product (with) no unique feature ... (with) probably no name recognition among consumers. It was almost impossible to move the products that our factory wanted us to move. When I came to the U.S., Nitto had only $ 6 million in sales with $8 million in inventory. It was not in good shape and the company demanded $15 million in sales, which then equated to around 500,000 tires, to keep the ship afloat.

MTD: However, you managed to make that happen, taking Nitto from the verge of bankruptcy when you started to the thriving, growing $1 billion-a-year corporation it is today. Can you tell us a little bit about how you transformed the company?

Mizutani: Simply speaking, tire products (are) negative purchases. When consumers purchase (tires), it's a negative feeling. ‘I don’t want to buy that. I have to buy’ - like a water bill, like an electric bill or a gas bill. So it’s a very difficult product to make money (with). However, there are segments in this world (that are) positive purchases. ‘I don’t need, but I want to buy.’ Apparel, jewelry, nice bags... you name it. We tried to leave the negative purchase segment... (and move to) a positive purchase.

MTD: You were instrumental in the revitalization of Nitto. How did that come about? How did you revitalize the company?

Mizutani: We tried to get into the positive purchase segment. Of course, there were a bunch of positive products already in the market. However, if you are belonging to (the) copycats, you cannot be a price leader. So we needed to do something. One day, I spent time in a tuning shop. There were a bunch of 20-inch wheels ... however, no tires properly fitting to luxury sedans. People were dreaming (of having) a 20-inch tire. I studied it and we issued a (size) 245/35/20. Prices were high, profit was great. Within a couple of months, (we) sold out. We needed to have a second mold – sold out. Third mold – sold out. Fourth, fifth... eventually we had 10 molds. We owned that market for probably a couple years until some other manufacturers (joined). We revitalized the company because (we created ) a positive purchase.

MTD: You also were a very early adaptor of digital marketing. Can you tell us about your social media strategy and innovations on the digital side?

Mizutani: I have to name a few people, especially Mr. Andy Ando. He was gracious enough to show me there was a huge opportunity stemming from the rising import performance car market. He was the person who opened my eyes to the import performance market and that was the trigger into getting into the ‘want’ product (category). If we followed other companies (that had) a much bigger budget, we had no way to compete against a big national name brands, so we had to do something unique. Digital marketing gave us a chance to be better if we are nimble. At that time, I had no idea about IT. However,  I met a person names Justin Choi. He was my mentor to lead digital marketing. At the same time, we had the lucky opportunity to have great talent to drive our engine, like Stephen Leu (senior director, brand publishing, Nitto), Harry Kong (senior manager, brand publishing, Nitto) and Efrain Viveros (senior director, brand experience and technical services, Nitto). These people are driving our digital marketing.

MTD: What are some of the changes you’ve seen in the U.S. tire industry during your career?

Mizutani: The biggest change is private equity (PE) all of a sudden appeared and they really changed the format of distribution. Basically, I think there are two reasons: number one is politics. Probably the majority of people do not remember, (but the) U.S. federal government limited banks to stay only in (their) state. However, deregulation came in the ‘80s and deregulation allowed bankers to have multi-state (presence). Then they started supporting multi-state, interstate dealerships. Secondly, communication cost is way down. Used to be, we depended on telephone ground lines, but now have the internet. The cost reduction has been huge. These are things that invited PE to be a major player in the tire industry (at a) much bigger financial scale, as well as more sophisticated IT technology. These changes were huge for the tire industry.

MTD: You’ve made an incredible impact on Japanese-American business relations and have been instrumental in advancing understanding between the two countries and cultures in a business setting. 

Mizutani: I had a different cultural background in Japan. And also I started in the tire business with a trading house. I didn't get formal tire training when I was young. So the answer was, ‘Work harder – double or triple.’ We put in a lot of effort to understand the market.

MTD: So innovation, communication, capitalizing on opportunities, sheer hard work, recognizing what customers want and working very hard and very innovatively to deliver that to them have all contributed not just to Nitto's success, but your success, In your current position as chairman emeritus, what's next for you?

Mizutani: Japanese companies have their own policy (governing) retirement age. I'm still young. I’m still capable. I can't imagine retiring and just focusing on a hobby. I'd like to find a way to keep working. I’m looking for the right opportunity in the future.