{"id":11052,"date":"2007-04-18T14:11:47","date_gmt":"2007-04-18T21:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2007\/04\/18\/worlds-oldest-business-goes-out-of-same.html"},"modified":"2007-04-18T14:11:47","modified_gmt":"2007-04-18T21:11:47","slug":"worlds_oldest_business_go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/04\/18\/worlds_oldest_business_go.html","title":{"rendered":"World’s oldest business goes out of same"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another victim of the tumultuous Japanese economy, alas.  Kinda sad<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

The world’s oldest continuously operating family business ended its impressive run last year. Japanese temple builder Kongo Gumi, in operation under the founders’ descendants since 578, succumbed to excess debt and an unfavorable business climate in 2006.<\/p>\n

How do you make a family business last for 14 centuries? Kongo Gumi’s case suggests that it’s a good idea to operate in a stable industry. Few industries could be less flighty than Buddhist temple construction. The belief system has survived for thousands of years and has many millions of adherents. With this firm foundation, Kongo had survived some tumultuous times, notably the 19th century Meiji restoration when it lost government subsidies and began building commercial buildings for the first time. But temple construction had until recently been a reliable mainstay, contributing 80% of Kongo Gumi’s $67.6 million in 2004 revenues.<\/p>\n

Kongo Gumi also boasted some internal positives that enabled it to survive for centuries. Its last president, Masakazu Kongo, was the 40th member of the family to lead the company. He has cited the company’s flexibility in selecting leaders as a key factor in its longevity. Specifically, rather than always handing reins to the oldest son, Kongo Gumi chose the son who best exhibited the health, responsibility, and talent for the job. Furthermore, it wasn’t always a son. The 38th Kongo to lead the company was Masakazu’s grandmother.<\/p>\n

Another factor that contributed to Kongo Gumi’s extended existence was the practice of sons-in-law taking the family name when they joined the family firm. This common Japanese practice allowed the company to continue under the same name, even when there were no sons in a given generation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Unfortunately, bad real estate investments in the 90s bubble, and a decline in temple donations (and, thus, billing) led to $343MM in debt by last year.  Sic transit.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(via BoingBoing<\/a>)<\/p>\n

<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another victim of the tumultuous Japanese economy, alas.  Kinda sad. The world’s oldest continuously operating family business ended its impressive run last year. Japanese temple builder Kongo Gumi, in operation…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-big-business"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":133892,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/07\/19\/yet-another-entry-for-my-bucket-list.html","url_meta":{"origin":11052,"position":0},"title":"Yet another entry for my Bucket List","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 19-Jul-17 8:56am","format":false,"excerpt":"I'd love to visit here and the other rich archaeological sites in Cambodia. 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