Why does Sigma feel different? In this exclusive conversation with Kazuto Yamaki, CEO of Sigma Corporation, we step far beyond the typical discussion of camera specs and product launches. This is a rare, intimate look at the philosophy that drives a company often seen as maverick in the industry.
Welcome to Kazakhstan. It's a pleasure that you came here. It's a market where Sigma is well known. What is the main mission now for Sigma Global?
Our mission number one is to become a company that continuously creates the most creative product, the highest quality product continuously, not today, but tomorrow and also 5, 10 years later. Our mission number two is become the most beloved brand by our customers, business partners, and the local community. This is our second mission. So we do our best to be loved by our customers in Central Asia.
If I'm not mistaken, you have this concept of beautifulness. Can you share what do you mean? Because now it's a very actual theme to talk about. What do you mean?
Actually, this is one of my favorite words. And this word was taken from the very old book, Book of Tea, Tenshin Okakura, the name of the author. He wrote it's early 20th century. I think it was 1905 or 1906. So, at that time, many Western powers, mainly from Europe, are fighting each other to get the territory, mainly in Asia and also Oriental area. And because of that, many people want to be bigger, stronger, and faster. This is I think a basic theory and the philosophy of the 20th century. Tenshin Okakura suggested such a world is narrow-minded and a narrow focus, narrow sight. So, why don't you enjoy the cup of tea and step away from such a world? And so, beautiful foolishness means step away from the daily busy life or some mainstream power game. So, when I was thinking about the name of the BF camera here, I hope our customers enjoy photography holding the camera in their hands. You know, these days smartphone does a good job to create a beautiful image. But in my case, it doesn't stimulate my creative minds. Even if I have the smartphone in my pocket, I don't see the beautiful thing in the daily life. But if I hold the camera in my hand, I try to find a nice light or shadow or nice scenery and to take pictures. So, you know, every day everybody is so busy in daily life, but once you have the camera with their hands, they forget about the busy life or daily business and try to find the beautiful thing in the normal daily life. So, that's the reason why I named it on the camera.
Mr. Kazuto, I think it's very hard to be always on track, to be always innovative, always the best. How do you encourage your employees to follow this mission?
It's quite fortunate for our case because our business is not just making product and sell to the customers. After selling to the customers is the beginning of the new creation. And such an art form is a really, really big motivation. I always share the information. This photographer created this kind of beautiful picture with our products. Or this DOP created the beautiful film with our products. Biggest source of the motivation. Not only for the engineers, but also all employees at the factory. When comes to the new product development, we regularly have the internal meetings. I of course pitch idea. And also engineers pitch ideas. And also we have the product planning team. So the staffs over there also pitch ideas. And we discuss what needs to be produced for our potential customers. And then decide what to make to deliver the product that potentially solve the customer's problem. But quite often the creation of the customer side goes beyond our expectation. So I believe, I strongly believe the customers or users or artist is more creative than manufacturers. That's the most exciting part of our business. We make everything in Japan in one location called Aizu. So everything is under our control. If we have some other company make our products, it's beyond our control. But we can control the quality of all of our products. And what I always tell our employees, please assume this one product may be purchased by your friend or by your parent-in-law or by your son who's been saving money to buy products. So I'm pretty sure that we can keep the quality of all products at the highest level. Through this kind of activity, I believe we can contribute to the development of the imaging industry.
Do you create some, you know, space like exhibitions for them because, you know, it's important to engage and stay in contact, yeah.
Actually, these days the power of community is very, very important. In the past, the big company may have been able to control the customers' opinion through the advertisement, TV advertisement with the big money, but these days people can judge the product quality or product experience by themselves and they share the information. So, first of all, we need to be very honest about performance and quality of the products so that we can... So, we work hard. And then, we also try to communicate very honestly and openly with our users. These days such an attitude of the company is very transparent. We often have an opportunity to have our customer get-together like through a workshop or events or seminar. So, communication with such customers is really important.
Thank you because I just have to say because if we take photography, it's one aspect of the videographers, video content is very viral, especially here in this region. I don't have any statistics on, you know, the world, but it seems like this region is now, you know, it's hard to stop them.
I can imagine because this region is very unique. So much diversity here. So I think it's quite unique compared to the rest of the region in the world.
And also this area is a center of historically, it's a center of the world, right? Now, this is a place where the west and the east meet.
Classy meets, yeah, Eurasia.
So always there's always some new culture or new innovation begins in such a marginal area. For example, in the past there is the place where the nomad was living and also the farmers were living. And this, you know, place something happens and many innovation occurred. So I think this region has a great potential to be creative because so unique.
Before you came here to the studio, I was asking our operators what cameras they use, why they're using it. Honestly, I didn't expect that they will tell that they use Sigma, honestly. I was literally thinking, oh, they probably use some other brands. But they said they use Sigma because it's very convenient.
And plus the quality is really high.
Is this what you have envisioned when you just started join the company long time ago.
Yes. Actually, let me tell you about the history of the company. The Sigma was founded in 1961 by my father. And my father started the company in the center of Tokyo. But it was a very little factory and actually little assembly house. So we could not produce parts. So they moved to the outskirt of Tokyo. It was 1968. And on that year, in that year I was born.
And my father built the five-floor building and top of the building was our house.
So since I was born, I had been with the company. And my father always told me to take over his business even when I was a small kid. So he always wanted to make the company creative and also kind to the employees and also kind to all the people related to the business. So as a second generation, I just take over his vision and philosophy and trying to, you know, take it to the next generation.
To the next level, I would...
Because I know inheriting business it's not easy.
And you get what your parents did, but then you have to be more innovative, more technologically advanced in a way that so that you can be better than, you know, your parents because you have to run the company and you have to have better results, the business results, right?
Actually, when my father told me to take over the business when I was young, I could not believe I can be a successor.
But one day he told me that photography is a good business, because people take photos when they were happy.
