English business report

LANVIN CO.

Business report

Tokyo Trip - January 12, 2021

Dear Ms. Finley,

As you are well aware, I recently went on a business trip to Tokyo Japan. The purpose of this trip was to meet with our new clients and see if we could establish a contract in collaboration with the Japanese company TKY2 for a campaign launch in Japan.

Overall, the trip went pretty smoothly, and it would have been perfect if not for the 4-hour flight delay on the day of the departure, due to a suspicious package onboard the aircraft.

Luckily, I was prepared in case of a flight delay. I had planned to meet on the following day. This is why you must always be prepared for unfortunate events, and always arrive at least one day before a meeting.

Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised. A taxi driver as well as a representative from the TKY2 group were waiting for me at the arrival gates with a printed name sign. This made me feel very welcome. As we went through the meetings, and even outside the company, there was always a translator present.

During this trip, I was able to assess the needs of our target customers in Japan. I was also able to present our collaboration ideas and determine a retro planning for the launch of the future campaign in collaboration with the Japanese group TKY2. I also found out during the meeting that this collaboration was long awaited by the Japanese group, and that they were glad we had come to them with such an innovating idea.

There were many cultural differences, some of which I had not been prepared to. Take our lunches for example. I was brought to an exquisite Ramen restaurant. Only, you should know that in Japan, making a slurping noise while eating your noodles is encouraged and smiled upon. If you do so, it means you are enjoying the food the chef has prepared for you. Whereas is France it is considered rude to make noises while eating.

Something you should also know, is that Japanese in general really like to exchange business cards. One’s business card is an extension of oneself. So, you should always accept or offer a business card with two hands while facing the other person, then look at the card before putting it away.

A very polite and highly appreciated move is bowing. You must bow when greeting, leaving and thanking a person. I was pleased to have been informed of such a gesture prior to this trip, as we were always meeting with very important businessmen.

All in all, this trip was a complete success. I was able to meet with all our new clients and even sign a collaboration agreement with the Japanese company TKY2 for the 2021 campaign launch in Japan.

I would like to thank our HR team for the culture specific seminars we had prior to the business trip. We might not have gotten what we wanted, had we not been prepared.

Yours sincerely,

J M

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