Daiwa takes share in marketing company in bid to diversify

Japan’s Daiwa Securities Group Inc said Thursday it would invest 14 billion yen ($128 million) in marketing company Katana, aiming to diversify revenue sources as stock transaction fees are expected to shrink.

Katana was founded in 2017 by Tsuyoshi Morioka, who helped turn around Osaka-based entertainment park Universal Studios Japan, according to the company.

The move comes as Japanese securities firms, including Daiwa, have struggled with their sluggish retail business under volatile market conditions.

Daiwa posted an 83.1 percent decline in its retail division’s recurring profit during the three months through September, while Nomura, the country’s largest brokerage and investment bank, said its pretax income for the division dropped 57 percent year-on-year in the same period last year.

The capital tie-up will contribute to domestic companies in terms of marketing, said Daiwa’s senior executive managing director Akihiko Ogino, adding that marketing is not regarded as an important factor for Japanese companies.

While more than 60 percent firms in the US have a position of chief marketing officer, fewer than 1 percent of Japanese companies did as of 2014, government statistics show.

Katana will use 3 billion yen from Daiwa’s investment for a company that is developing an amusement park on the southern island of Okinawa, its chief executive Morioka said, saying the marketer is working with other partners to opening the park in 2024 or 2025.