Takara CEO Satoh Keita talks about his challenges in a rather downbeat Japan Times article. Unfortunately, there’s nothing exciting to report.

The CEO does explain his risky “what do you really, really want to do” strategy circa 2000 was aimed at boosting employee morale. (He didn’t elaborate but Takara watchers will know employee morale was at a low following the unsuccessful tenure of Satoh’s by-the-book older brother, Hirohisa.)

The article also mentions Takara’s upcoming hero character line (this would no doubt be the sentai line mentioned by Zinc Panic) but exasperatingly, no details are provided.

Kudos to Zinc Panic for their recent coverage (1, 2, 3) of Takara’s reaction to disappointing earnings.

It’s worth noting, though, the company was making similar noises about restructuring and focus-shifting in its 2004 annual report after its financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2004 fell short of expectations as well.

The company’s move to merge and sell off portions of its business in order to become a lean, mean profit-making machine is probably a painful one for Satoh Keita. The CEO had previously based his corporate strategy on asking employers what they really, really wanted to do and this resulted in some oddball products — some hot, some not.

For toy fans, however, this restructuring and refocussing is going to be a welcome development indeed. The big news for fans of Takara’s older hits is the company’s interest in reviving and exploiting those hits. (This blast from the past focus is fitting considering Takara will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next September.) Anyway, properties cited include Diaclone, Dougram, Votoms and Jeeg, and I’m guessing the company is going to use the same approach it used with Transformers and Microman i.e. begin with repros before producing new designs inspired by the vintage ones.

Transformers fans will no doubt be heartened by the company’s strong focus on the line. This is hardly surprising since Transformers racked up 2,338 million yen in sales for the six months ending September 2004 making it Takara’s second-biggest hit in the Boys’ Toys Division after Duel Masters.

In one little-reported move, Takara is also working with Micott and Basara, Inc to produce a CG Transformers movie for Japan and abroad in 2006. This is apparently a separate project from the Dreamworks-helmed movie. However, I couldn’t find additional details on the web aside from the mention in Takara’s 2004 annual report and there’s no mention of it on Micott and Basara’s web site.

In another surprising move, Takara is preparing a sentai show to be aired next January. This will not be Takara’s first foray into the sentai genre. Cybercop gets little attention these days but the toys look to be absolutely brilliant (for that time period anyway).

However, it’s a competitive market these days. Konami/Toho currently have Justirisers and Bandai/Toei’s Magiranger will no doubt be the 800-pound gorilla 8000 tonne daikaiju of the genre. I’m not sure how Takara is going to differentiate itself from its competitors but I’m confident in Takara’s ability to produce fantastic action figures. I’m expecting some detailed figures with articulation comparable (if not superior) to Konami’s Justirisers figures and hopefully, Takara’s designers will also incorporate 5mm pegs and ports into the line for compatibility with the company’s other action figure offerings.

One final note about the Japanese toy market in general: It’s generally assumed the Japanese toy market is heading for bad times due to the declining birth rate but that may not necessarily be the case. From Takara’s 2004 annual report:

According to data from The Japan Toy Association, the value of Japan’s toyrelated market (excluding videogames and related merchandise) in fiscal 2004, ended March 31, 2004, was ¥703.1 billion, around the same level as the previous year. Indications are that the composition of the market is changing. Despite a declining population due to Japan’s low birthrate, the amount spent on toy purchases per person is climbing, and a toy market targeting adults has also begun to emerge.