Natalia Khizanishvili transfered to the Asian market to become the general manager of “Wolt Japan”. Over the years, Natalia worked in the banking sector. Then, she changed the field to lead the “Wolt” tem in the markets of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Already two months now, she has moved to the eastern spot of Asia, Tokyo, where Wolt’s head office is located, to be in charge on the Japanese market of the global brand.
M: Natalia, how did you get the offer and what is interesting about the new position in a new country?
As you know, until now I was the regional manager of Wolt in three countries – Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Wolt’s head office made the decision to move me to Japan based on business priorities. Using my experience in a country like Japan was a very important decision for Wolt. I accepted this exciting challenge and became General Manager of Wolt Japan. I am in Tokyo for the second month, and it is a very interesting challenge. Japan pays a lot of attention to traditions, and this actively affects business processes as well. There are some barriers, including language and culture, which are new to me and I’m learning about them every day.
M: What is your work area and functions now?
If until now my region included three countries and the total population potential of all three countries was about 30 million, Japan’s population is 126 million and there are more than a million restaurants. Japan is one of the leading economies in the world, therefore, managing the country’s market with a much larger scale potential is a much more difficult and complex process. This means that different management tactics are needed, the scale of the partnership is different, and the long-term potential is huge.
Our head office is in Tokyo. We have a total of 4 offices across the country, where we have a large and motivated team that successfully manages large cities in various regions of Japan. I am honored to lead this strong team as we work together to ensure Wolt’s continued growth and success in Japan’s largest market.
M: How does the working principle of the Japanese Wolt differ from the Georgian one?
The main task of our business, our industry is to go to scale, and globally, this principle applies in our work. As for the Japanese market in particular, in addition to the language and cultural barriers that I have already talked about, the management of business processes here also includes other features. Change is implemented in a different way, and businesses rely on relationships. There are many different processes that you have to go through to be able to reach a consensus. In this country, trust is very important, it is very hard to earn and very easy to lose. If you don’t have trust and mutually beneficial strong partnerships, it is very difficult to succeed in Japan. You cannot do everything alone, without partners. Partnership and business relations here are based on trust.
M: Tell us about your expectations and work plans…
Our main goal is to increase efficiency and grow market share. These results will be the measure of our success. Once again, managing a market of such scale as Japan is quite a difficult and complex process, involving different scales of partnership and the greatest potential in the long term. I’m excited to take on this opportunity and do my very best to succeed.
