Masataka Fujisaki 1942- 1993
1942 Born in Tokyo
1965 Graduated from Tokyo University of Science
1967 Started a used car business in Setagaya, Tokyo
1969 Established Seibu Motors Hanbai K.K. which was re-named as Flex Motors in 1983
1982 Established Flex Japan, which was re-named as Japan Business Television in 1987
1984 Established Aucnet Inc
Information is from "正見録" (Shoken-Roku)- collection of the personal mottos, policies and thoughts of Masataka Fujisaki. Mastataka was told by his doctor that he had cancer in July 1993, so after that he started to compile his notes and memos. On December 24th,1993 he passed away.
Masataka established the used car dealership, Flex Motors, in 1967 but actually he was buying and selling cars as a business while still a student. During those early days, he could not get any financial credit as he was very young and without any established records or relationship. Later, he got acquainted with Saito Soko, one of the largest landlords in the Chofu area (Tokyo) and established Chofu Auto Center with their support.
Masataka was very creative. He was never satisfied with simply displaying and selling cars in yard. He established the large-scale auto-center concept and created the methods using a series of the single-page advertisement for a large number of used car photos and information, which later became the industry practice.
He started a car-refurbishment service in 1975. This service was to upgrade the quality of used car by replacing 18 items to improve the life of the vehicle and its reliability with enhanced added value, which was a very unigue concept in those days.
Masataka started a new vehicle payment scheme with 36-month installments without any down payment when where was no available loan system for used cars.
Those ideas made him successful in growing his businesses.
He was also one of the early pioneers in the computer business and in 1984 he established AUCNET INC, combining used car businesses with information technology. The company grew very rapidly and was first listed on the Jasdaq in 1991.
When he established Aucnet as a virtual auction company, where was no precedent for trading used cars without physically observing the car, as such business model is still rather limited even today. That was 40 years ago and many people opposed to the idea, but Masataka never gave up. He did reasonably good research but he was also a person who would be happy to start a project and refine the idea enroute. He persistently challenged new ideas as when AUCNET started to use satellite communications after only 4 years of establishing the business and when such communication was still predominantly used only for military purposes.
After Masataka was suddenly hospitalized in July 1993, his brother Kiyotaka Fujisaki become the president and CEO of Aucnet Inc. Kiyotaka Fujisaki is actually the one who published the book "Shoken-Roku" , the collection of Mr. Masataka Fujisaki's thoughts about life and work.
Management Principles of AUCNET
Principle of Action Focus. The world talent implies a person who keeps challenging themselves and carries on through to "new knowledge and experience".
Principle of Customer Focus. Based on a motto of "Service orientation", always keep a kind a interaction in mind".
Principle of Effective Communication. Work in friendly and enjoyable ways to prevent sectionalism.
Principle of Speed. "Time is money". The most significant management resource is the time. Do it immediately once it is decided.
Read more about history of auctions : https://www.akebono-akb.com/post/history-of-used-car-auction-development