Granny In Running Shoes Deliver Ramen To Uber In Japan

While most workers give birth by bike or scooter, seniors looking for exercise do so on foot, said Uber's executive director, Dara Khosrowshahi.

Uber's strategy for Japan, where carpooling is banned, is as unique as the country itself: think of the grandmother in running shoes who delivers ramen noodles.

The president and CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, was in the country last week to highlight the importance of the market, where the San Francisco-based company built a growing food distribution company, but limited travel to black car rentals and taxis. The archipelago is also home to Uber's largest shareholder, SoftBank Group Corp. where it plans to strengthen its workforce over the next year.

"Older people sign up for e-mails from Eats," Khosrowshahi told Bloomberg News. "Eat was a huge success for us in Japan. This will be a very effective introduction to the Uber brand."

Building Uber Eats could be, for the moment, the best opportunity for the company to generate income in the third world economy. More than 10,000 restaurants and 15,000 smugglers are part of a distribution network covering 10 Japanese cities, according to the CEO. This puts the service within the reach of about 15 per cent of the population, compared to 70 per cent in the United States, which leaves a lot of room for growth, he said.

With an unemployment rate of 2.4%, its lowest level in a quarter of a century, Japan's labour market is strained. The population is aging; adult diapers are not selling as well as baby diapers. Seniors rely on food delivery to find a job, in addition to having hot meals delivered to their doorstep.

While most workers give birth by bike or scooter, older people looking for exercise do so on foot, Khosrowshahi said. "This is a unique field in Japan, and we are looking to expand our activities to the rest of the world," said the CEO.

In support of its Cats business, as well as its nascent efforts to provide dispatching services to taxi companies, Uber plans to increase full-time employment in Japan by more than 30% over the next year, out of the current hundred, in areas such as accounts. local management, sales and operations. Even at this rate, it still represents only a tiny fraction of the 22,000 people Uber has in the world.

Yume No Machi Souzou iinkai Co. and Ride on Express Holdings Co. in Tokyo. "Uber Eats has a cool and cutting edge image, so concerns could easily grow so that young users can switch to Uber Eats," said Toshikazu Horiuchi, head of stocks at Iwai Cosmo Securities.

Given Japan's strict regulations against carpooling, Uber has chosen to work with regulators. In 2016, it launched a pilot programme to offer walks to the elderly in the small coastal town of Tangocho, where the aging population faced a decline in public transport services.

Last year, Uber focused on partnerships with local taxi companies. It has now reached agreements with eight taxi companies in many cities, including popular tourist destinations such as Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima. Sony Corp., the start-up Japan Taxi and the Chinese Didi Chuxing are among those who have launched competing applications for taxi cabs, seeking to help consumers hail horse rides and get to their destination. Uber Black, the car rental service is currently available only in Tokyo.

"It will take time, but we appreciate what we see in terms of market potential," said Khosrowshahi. "The innovations we're going to make in the taxi here will go around the world."

During his visit to Tokyo, the CEO also took the time to meet with Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, which acquired a 13% stake in Uber, worth about $ 9.8 billion. The conversation focused on the growth plan of the hiking giant during the meeting.

"If I'm in Japan, you can bet I go see Masa," said Khosrowshahi. "Masa is really focused on its activities in three years and beyond."

Son is currently raising funds for a second Vision Fund of $ 100 billion; one question is what assets it might seek to sell to finance SoftBank's share of another investment fund. His son raised $ 28 billion for the first fund, in part, by selling his lucrative stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

While Khosrowshahi refused to detail what he and his son discussed, SoftBank's engagement with Uber is long-term. Takeaki Nukii, a SoftBank spokesman, was unable to comment immediately on the subject.