A small light bulb lit up above the head of Susumu Takeuchi when he was barely 24. And last year, his modest little business idea brought in 400 million yen.
"I had seen rice dealers going around neighborhoods taking orders and often wondered why," Takeuchi explained. "Then I realized, if they just waited at their stores, potential customers would probably end up buying their rice at the nearest supermarket. By taking orders and delivering the rice, the dealers were offering a kind of courtesy service."
Recognizing the potential of the direct approach, Takeuchi remodelled a small van he had acquired and took to the streets of Chofu and Fuchu, western Tokyo.