Our signboard may change, but the history we have built with our customers will remain

ーFirst, tell us about your current work.

I have been assigned to the Sales Management Headquarters for the past three years. My main tasks include the proposal and roll-out of frontline marketing initiatives, and coordination across multiple headquarters. For my first 10 years with the company, I was assigned to the Area Sales Headquarters. I was in charge of office equipment and cross-sales business in Aichi, Hiroshima, and Okayama.

This year, 2025, was the 13th since I joined the company as a new graduate. I feel I’ve thrived all these years thanks to the wonderful people I work with and the sense that the company genuinely needs me.

ーWhat motivates you most about your work, and what do you find challenging?

I feel most motivated when a package that I’ve put together is useful in the sales frontline. I’m really happy when sales staff tell me that my products helped to build a positive relationship with a customer.

What’s challenging for me is that I have to keep a high-level perspective and look not just at the individual trees but at the whole forest. I have to remain focused on the big picture while keeping everything moving and coordinating across different areas. It’s demanding, but it’s also very rewarding.

ーWhat was your involvement in the selection of the new brand slogan?

It began when I was summoned to a meeting and told that I’d been chosen to be part of the team that would choose the new brand slogan. There were around 15 of us. We held regular workshops over a period of several months. I learned later that the company name would also be changed. I was shocked at first, but after extensive discussions over a period of about half-a-year, I realized that the brand slogan and the new name truly expressed what kind of company we are.

ーHow did you choose “Empower the Future.” as the new brand slogan?

In the workshop, we first identified our strengths, weaknesses, and our vision for the future. We then listed keywords that would be suitable for a company slogan. I was struck by how many people suggested the word “empower”, which is the one that we ultimately adopted. It resonates deeply with our cherished Spirit of Three Loves, and it perfectly reflects our long history of growing alongside our customers, as well as our commitment to co‑creation, so it felt like a very natural choice.

ーWhat was your impression of the new name, RITRES?

We were shown the final candidates considered by the management team. All of them were grounded in reasons and backgrounds that genuinely reflected our company, and I felt that none of the options would have been out of place.

Having worked in frontline sales for many years, especially in regional areas where customers often called me “RICOH-san” with real affection, I can’t say I have no concerns about the company changing its name. I’ve felt the strength of the RICOH brand firsthand, and the trust that we’ve built over the years is significant. However, even if the name “RICOH” were to disappear, the relationships of trust we’ve cultivated with our customers will never change.

ーDo the values embodied in the name RITRES relate directly to your work?

The meaning behind our new company name, RITRES, especially the Latin tres—meaning “three”—perfectly expresses what our company values most: the three-way integration of processes, digital technology, and data. I can also relate to that image in my own work, particularly in my coordination between internal and external stakeholders. It’s like being part of a triangle that connects the intentions of different companies and departments and supports the organization as a whole. I see RITRES as being focused toward a strategic direction that gives meaning to the kind of behind‑the‑scenes role that I play, and as a name that communicates that message clearly within the company.

Some employees may feel uneasy about losing the “RICOH” name that we have valued for so long. However, this marks the first step in a major shift for the entire company—a transformation toward a new version of ourselves. It isn’t about one person changing. What matters most is that all of us understand the origins and meaning of the new company name and move forward together to build our future.

ーFinally, what is your vision for empower the future?

Changing our company name at the milestone of our 50th anniversary is a declaration of our determination to build on the history that previous generations have written in partnership with our customers over the past five decades. To live up to the name RITRES, we aim to evolve into a company that can contribute even more to the customers whom we will work with in the future by leveraging one of our greatest strengths—our ability to use transaction data from more than 400,000 client companies. As for myself, as one member of this organization, I intend to play my part behind the scenes so that we can continue to grow toward the future with our colleagues and customers.