Meeting Date: 2011/03/17
1. Company Profile
Name of Company: Bankunmei Co., Ltd.
Head Office: 5 th Floor, Tosho Bldg., 2-13-7 Yamate-Dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe,
Hyogo 650-0011 Japan
Tel:078-325-8186 Fax: 078-325-8215
Website: http://www.Bankunmei.com/
Established: 2006 Employees: 60 Persons (5 instructors and 55 therapists /All Japanese staffs)
Type of Business: Thai Spa and Massage School
Branches: 11 Thai Spa Salons and 1 Thai Massage School
Hyogo Pref. 1) Bankunmei, Ashiya Main Salon
2) Bankunmei, Sannomiya
3) Bankunmei, Rokkomichi
4) Bankunmei, Takarazuka
5) Bankunmei, Mondo Yakujin
6) Bankunmei, Awaji-Yumesenkei
7) Bankunmei, Manyou-Club Kobe
8) Lino Spa (Tharasso Treatment Spa)
Kagawa Pref. 9) Bankunmei, Kotohira-Kadan
Osaka Pref. 10) Bankunmei, Yodoyabashi Unizo
11) Bankunmei, Hommachi Arietta
School -Bankunmei Thai Massage School 2. Met With
Baan Khun Mae Co., Ltd.:
- Mr. Takayuki Sagari, Chairman
Royal Thai Consulate General, Osaka:
- Ms. Natenapa Kongsri, Deputy Consul-General
TTC Osaka:
- Ms. Sirikarn Amatayakul, Deputy Director
- Ms. Yoshiko Sakata, Market Development Officer
- Ms. Jiraporn Toshima, Trade Officer
3. Information from meeting
3.1. Overview of Company:
Mr. Sagari, Chairman of Bankunmei has been engaged in Thai spa business including spa consulting and therapist training service since 2006. He said he loved Thai spa very much and wanted to create Thai spa in the same style with Thailand in Japan, so established "Bankunmei Co.,Ltd. At present he has 11 Thai Spas and 1 school in Kansai and Shikoku area. He is choosing hotel location to establish good image of Thai spa. This company is a member of the Traditional Thai Massage Association Japan (TTMA) and their spa salons and school are certified by this association.
*Website of TTMA http://traditional-thai-massage.com/index.htm
3.2. Bankunmei, Manyo-club Kobe
Mr. Sagari, Bankunmei invited TTC to their newest branch at Wellness zone on the 8th floor of "Kobe Harborland Onsen - Manyou Club", just opened in July 2010. There are 5 treatment rooms ( 3 Thai traditional massage rooms and 2 oil massage rooms ) and 6 therapist at this branch. Size of space is about 105 square meters. Their location - Manyou Club is one of the largest Onsen leisure facility including hotel, restaurant and health & wellness service, managed by Manyou Club Co.,Ltd.(Headquarter: Kanagawa Pref.) , which located on the 7 th to17th floor of Promena Kobe (shopping center building near JR Kobe station). It is not a real onsen, but import water from Shirahama-Onsen, one of the most famous Onsen resorts in Wakayama everyday.
3.3. Product imported from Thailand:
- OTOP Herb balls (30,000 pcs / year)
- Massage oils, Interior and decorative items.
4. Result of meeting:
Ms. Natenapa Kongsri, Deputy Consul-General and TTC Osaka visited Bankunmei, Mangyou-club to prepare information for JTEPA negotiations in the future. Opinion of Mr. Sagari, chairman of Bankunmei on employing Thai therapists are as follows.
1) At present, there is no working visa for Thai therapist, so it is very difficult to find legally-available good quality Thai therapists in Japan.
2) It is difficult for both Japanese manager and customers to communicate with Thai therapists, because of the language and cultural barrier.
3) If legally-available, he is very interested in employing Thai managers and therapists and operate branches with Thai staffs only.
4) He is interested in technical partnership with Thai spas or training schools in the future.
Reported by: Yoshiko Sakata, Thai Trade Center, Osaka (Japan)
Thai Trade Center, Osaka (Japan)
Source : http://www.depthai.go.th