Hedge fund managers and car detailing experts are two very different professions that people don’t usually associate with each other. However, some people have successfully transitioned from hedge fund managers to car detailing experts.

In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Toshiya Kimura, president of KeePer Singapore, who has lived in Singapore for 18 years, shared his experience of changing careers from a hedge fund manager to a car beauty expert.

Kimura Toshiya, 59, studied business administration in the United States and worked in the hedge fund industry on Wall Street before founding his own fund company in Tokyo. In 2006, he moved the company to Singapore and reaped rich rewards in the booming financial market at the time. However, in 2018, having achieved “wealth freedom”, he resolutely decided to sell the company, ending his nearly 30-year financial career and beginning to seek a new direction in life.

That year, a friend who invested in Japanese stocks mentioned Keeper to Kimura. This Japanese-listed company focusing on car detailing inspired him greatly, prompting him to join the car detailing market, thus starting this unexpected career change.

He believes that the high cost of car ownership in Singapore, coupled with the hot and humid climate, has made more car owners willing to have their cars professionally cleaned and coated. This made him see business opportunities and he decided to introduce this Japanese brand’s coating products and services to the local market and open KeePer LABO’s first overseas direct store.

Talking about the experience of these two different industries, he said: “For me, the financial industry is more like a ‘paper theory’, while car detailing is a real business that requires daily operations. Although there are new challenges every day, it makes me feel more fulfilled and enjoyable. It is a completely different experience.”

Toshiya Kimura said that his business philosophy is not only about making profits, but also a mission to promote high-quality Japanese products to the world.

When the reporter visited, Kimura was demonstrating the company’s car coating. In order to be fully prepared for the first overseas direct-sale store, he personally went to the Japanese headquarters for two months of training before the opening. Kimura pointed out that Singaporeans have a high degree of trust in Japanese brands, and coupled with the high prices of local cars, car owners are more willing to pay for car beauty. “Compared to the price of the car itself, the cost of coating is not high, which makes us confident in the acceptance of the product.”

Using Singapore as a springboard to enter Southeast Asia, not afraid of high costs and difficulty in hiring

When asked why he chose Singapore to set up KeePer’s first overseas direct-operated store, Kimura said that although the local market is small, the number of cars owned is not high and the operating costs are high, it is a hub for entering Southeast Asia. He said: “Although the labor and rent in Singapore are indeed high, if we can succeed here, we believe we can also succeed in other Southeast Asian countries.”

Although optimistic about the market prospects, Kimura is clearly aware of the challenges of the Singapore market. He admitted that recruiting and training employees is a big problem: “In Japan, our head office can easily hire hundreds or even thousands of employees every year. In Singapore, it is not easy to find local employees willing to work in the car beauty industry. In most cases, we need to hire foreign employees. Limited by the government’s quota policy, the expansion of this brand has brought considerable challenges.”

In addition, the chemicals currently used by Keeper are all imported from Japan and need to comply with Singapore’s strict compliance standards, which undoubtedly increases operating costs.

In the next five years, Kimura plans to expand Keeper’s business to the entire Southeast Asia, so that more people can experience high-quality Japanese car detailing services. “Singapore is just our first step. I believe that the successful business model can be expanded to the entire Asian market. Ultimately, we hope that overseas revenue can exceed that of the Japanese market.”