Friday, August 27, 2021
Seicomart, a convenience store located in the Hekisui district of Hokuryu Town, is a very valuable store for local residents, protecting the livelihood of the community.
- 1 Seicomart Hekisui (Hekisui, Hokuryu-cho)
- 2 Ryoji Kikura, 82, talks about
- 3 Tadashi Haraiba, 76, talks about his experience
- 3.0.1 Invested his retirement money and started managing Seicomart Heki Sui!
- 3.0.2 It is thanks to the support of my wife and the community that I was able to take over the store.
- 3.0.3 Junpei Mihara, manager, and Daisuke Fujita for their hard work!
- 3.0.4 The secret to good health is to be physically active at work.
- 3.0.5 Appreciation for the community
- 4 Ryoji Kikura's Story: A Great Soul in a Dry Farm Family in Hokuryu Town
- 5 Seicomart Hesui
- 6 Related Articles and Websites
- 7 Seicomart Hesui
Seicomart Hekisui (Hekisui, Hokuryu-cho)
We interviewed Mr. Ryoji Kikura (former JA Kitasorachi Representative Director and Union President) and Mr. Tadashi Hiraiba, Seicomart Hekisui Representative Director, about the launch of Seicomart 25 years ago.
Ryoji Kikura, 82, talks about
Three stores operated by the Hokuryu Town Agricultural Cooperative
Shortly after the war, when the Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative was founded, it operated three stores in the Wadichi, Hekisui, and Biyagyu districts in Hokuryu Town. The stores and the blacksmith shop are indispensable facilities to protect the livelihood of the agricultural cooperative members.
However, some stores were having difficulty managing their operations. Nevertheless, these stores are important to the livelihood of the community. We cannot afford to lose them. A management rationalization plan was formulated and implemented.
Stores in the Wa district will continue to exist and stores in the Biyagyu district will be transferred.
As the merger of eight agricultural cooperatives in Kita-Sorachi was discussed, it was agreed that one agricultural cooperative and one store would be one of the conditions at the time of the merger of the cooperatives (JA Kitasorachi merger was in 2000). The Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative decided to keep one store in the Wa district.
As for the Biyagyu area, I, who was then the head of the Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative, consulted with Mr. Masakazu Yoshio, the deputy head of the cooperative. Thanks to the great efforts of Mr. Yoshio, the management of the business was transferred to Hosokawa Shoten, which was run by a resident of the Miyabagyu area.
Stores in Hekisui area merged with Seicomart
For the stores in the Hekisui area, negotiations to outsource to a convenience store proved difficult due to incompatible conditions. They said that the space for selling fresh materials and direct sales is not acceptable for convenience stores.
Under these circumstances, Seicomart, which is committed to establishing stores throughout the province, was the only one to accept the contract. They accepted the location and direct sales of fresh materials that the Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative store had been handling. It was a decision made by Seicomart President Nagamitsu Nishio. This was the first merger between an agricultural cooperative and a convenience store in Hokkaido.
Seicomart Hekisui began operation in 1997 (Hekisui 1997) as a convenience store "Seicomart Hekisui" in an agricultural cooperative store in the Hekisui area.
Tadashi Haraiba, 76, talks about his experience
Invested his retirement money and started managing Seicomart Heki Sui!
When I was an employee of the Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative, I was involved in the management of this store in the Hekisui district due to a personnel transfer.
Later, amid discussions on consignment to Seicomart, five members of the Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative Association's board of directors and staff set up a joint-stock company and began managing Seicomart Hekisui. The five officers of the agricultural cooperative were Mr. Kikura, the head of the cooperative, and Mr. Yoshio, the deputy head of the cooperative, and the staff members were Mr. Ishikawa, Mr. Hiraba, and Mr. Fujii, the store manager.
However, after the merger of the agricultural cooperatives, JA Kitasorachi and Seicomart had different fiscal years, and under the accounting law, the agricultural cooperatives could not manage Seicomart Heki Sui stores. The reason is that an organization cannot have two fiscal years.
So, when I was 54 years old, I retired from JA Kitasorachi and used my severance pay to purchase the shares owned by the agricultural cooperative for 10 million yen, and became the representative director. I started managing Seicomart independent of the agricultural cooperative.
There was also a 7-Eleven across the street, one of the top five in Hokkaido in terms of sales, and I could not foresee the future. However, after having struggled and associated with so many people, I couldn't just run away (laughs). I have been working desperately on this project until now.
It is thanks to the support of my wife and the community that I was able to take over the store.
The reason why he was able to continue to run Seicomart Heki Sui is because of his mother (Ikuko HirabaI owe it all to the fact that (Kana) was running a beauty salon. In the beginning, I had a very hard time making various payments, but thanks to Kaa-san's support in my life, I am grateful that I was able to overcome the difficulties.
And we have been able to do this thanks to the local farmers' associations and organizations that have used us for banquets, memorial services, weddings, funerals, and other events. They have really helped us out. In the past, weddings and funerals were also very important, and boxed foods were used for catered meals and gifts.
The entire town supported each other and worked together to make the store look great, so it flourished and flourished. We are truly grateful to the locals who use our store so often.
Junpei Mihara, manager, and Daisuke Fujita for their hard work!
The current manager, Junpei Mihara, and Daisuke Fujita, both employees since the opening of the store, have been working very hard and quietly doing their jobs without a single complaint or whine.
The two of you have spared no effort in making deliveries for the elderly, regardless of the amount or number of items ordered, no matter how small the customer's order may be. The two of you are truly an important presence that has earned the trust of many local townspeople and is appreciated by everyone.
The secret to good health is to be physically active at work.
The reason I am still going strong today is because of this job. I think it was very good for my body because I move around a lot from early in the morning.
I get up around 3:00 in the morning and arrive at work at 4:00 to begin preparations. The goods are delivered to the store at 5:00. I return home around 5:30 in the evening and go to bed at 7 pm. I have been living this lifestyle every day for more than 20 years.
In winter, it is very difficult to remove the snow before the Seicomart delivery truck arrives.
Appreciation for the community
It is thanks to the people in the community that we are able to continue to operate our store in this way. I have nothing but gratitude!
Ryoji Kikura's Story: A Great Soul in a Dry Farm Family in Hokuryu Town
Mr. Hare's parents were very respectable people. His father always had a smiling face and you never saw an angry face, and his mother was a very kind and elegant person. His parents ran a tofu store and served as commissioned station managers. They had a large family of nine siblings.
My eldest son.Mr. Haraiba Ichi.is a former assistant director of the Hokuryu Town Hall. Mr. Sohei Hiraba worked for the Land Improvement District and passed away early in his life.Isao Hirabahas contributed widely to various social welfare-related activities, including serving as the representative of the Saisei no Kai, a nationwide organization of families with juvenile dementia (appointed in 2006), and the representative of Sorachi Himawari, a Hokuryu-cho family association for families with juvenile dementia.
The whole family is dedicated to the town of Hokuryu with a family tree of people who have contributed to society.
I feel that the reason Seicomart Hekisui, which continues to protect the livelihood of the Hekisui community today, was made possible by Tadashi Hiraiba's strong desire in his heart to protect the community by spending his retirement money on his second life. I believe it is in the blood of the Hiraiba family to want to contribute to the community.
Seicomart Hesui
Business hours: 06:00 - 24:00
Side dish corner
dessert corner
general (household) goods
Seicomart's Dorayaki
Buy two and get a free PET bottle of hojicha (roasted green tea)!
In appreciation of Seicomart's 50th anniversary (1971-2021).
With boundless love, gratitude and prayers for Seicomart, a valuable local store that is supported and passionately protected by the people of the community, and that protects the livelihood of the community.
Related Articles and Websites
Mr. Ryoji Kikura (Former President of JA Kitasorachi)
On Thursday, December 5, at the Hokuryu-cho Himawari University Lecture Series, a lecture entitled "'Food is Life': Hokuryu-cho Protects and Nurtures 'Life, Food, Environment, and Living'" was held...
Seicomart Hekiisui, Tadashi Hiraiba, Representative
We will bring you the "now" of this vibrant and shining town with a population of 2,100 and an aging population rate of 40%. The town of Hokuryu, where families are as bright and harmonious as sunflowers...
Junpei Mihara, Manager, Seicomart Hekiisui
The 31st Himawari SNOW Festa "Yukinko Festival" was held at the Hokuryu Ski Resort on Sunday, February 11, from 12:30...
Seicomart Hekiisui, Mr. Daisuke Fujita
Monday, July 26, 2021 The 24th Wanpaku Summer Festival was held on Thursday, July 22 at 1:00 p.m. The Hokuryu-cho Huetai-betsu Kaw...
Seicomart Hekiisui, flier 【Seicomart Hekiisuiwinning hand containing nine consecutive tiles of the same suit (i.e. 1-9)]
Seicomart Hesui
Tel: 0164-34-3224
Hours of operation: 06:00 - 00:00
Closed] Open all year round
Parking] Available in front of the store
Reference pageSeicomart Hesui
◇ Photography and Editing: Noboru Terauchi Reporting and Writing: Ikuko Terauchi
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