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▼ Competition Heats Up Among Operators of Shared Offices
- Category:Event
Competition among operators of shared offices is getting tougher in the Tokyo metropolitan area and surrounding prefectures, with an increasing number of major real-estate developers and foreign firms opening businesses that lease such work-sharing spaces.
The boom has been spurred by an increase in the number of large firms that are reforming work styles to allow employees to conduct work anywhere and at any time.
Mitsui Fudosan Co. on April 5 offered a preview of “Work Styling Flex,” a shared office on the 18th floor of Tokyo Midtown in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
Mitsui’s shared office offers flexibility regarding the number of users and duration of use. For example, clients can rent a single seat and desk on a daily basis. Renting a one-seat space for a month costs ¥134,800 — less than renting an office and installing a copy machine and other equipment in that area.
The company operates office-sharing spaces at about about 30 locations nationwide. It plans to launch a shared office this autumn at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, which opened at the end of March.
“Through this flexible service, our clients can start their business right away,” a Mitsui official said.
In addition to major real-estate developers like Mitsui, companies from different industries have also been entering or expanding operations in the shared office market.
NTT Urban Development Corp. launched its “Lifork” office-sharing space in Tokyo’s Otemachi and Akihabara areas in April. The firm is also considering opening new facilities at old telephone exchanges and other facilities owned by NTT group.
Meanwhile, Tokyu Land Corp. opened its sixth “Business Airport” shared office in Tokyo’s Kanda district at the end of March.
U.S.-based WeWork Companies Inc., operator of shared workplaces worldwide, launched its first Tokyo location in Roppongi in February, followed by one in the Marunouchi district in March.
As of March, WeWork operated shared offices at 230 locations in 21 countries and had more than 210,000 members worldwide. The firm’s major selling point is that it offers members from various countries the ability to exchange information using a special app, enabling them to nurture new business opportunities.
WeWork plans to increase the number of its office-sharing spaces in Japan to 10-12 by the end of this year. Operators of shared offices are expected to face ever fiercer competition, one observer said.
Shared offices were once mainly used by freelance workers and entrepreneurs who needed a temporary place to work, but major firms have increasingly begun to use them.
Large companies aim to improve productivity and secure quality human resources by implementing work style reforms that allow employees to flexibly choose where and what times they work.
According to a survey conducted by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, 13.3 percent of company employees teleworked in fiscal 2016, and 14.8 percent did so in fiscal 2017. Teleworking is the practice of working outside of a traditional office, such as at home or in an office-share space, making use of the internet, email or telephone.
JFE Engineering Corp. employee Asako Sato, who has used a shared office, said: “I could charge my smartphone there and felt comfortable making business calls. It was much safer than doing my work at a coffee shop.”
According to an employee of a real estate firm, companies that cannot find offices that meet their needs sometimes use shared offices temporarily.
“Office-sharing meets the demands of companies that plan to expand locations. I think the number of users will increase,” said Takashi Katono, an official of major real estate services firm CBRE Inc.
Photo caption
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The boom has been spurred by an increase in the number of large firms that are reforming work styles to allow employees to conduct work anywhere and at any time.
Mitsui Fudosan Co. on April 5 offered a preview of “Work Styling Flex,” a shared office on the 18th floor of Tokyo Midtown in Minato Ward, Tokyo.
Mitsui’s shared office offers flexibility regarding the number of users and duration of use. For example, clients can rent a single seat and desk on a daily basis. Renting a one-seat space for a month costs ¥134,800 — less than renting an office and installing a copy machine and other equipment in that area.
The company operates office-sharing spaces at about about 30 locations nationwide. It plans to launch a shared office this autumn at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, which opened at the end of March.
“Through this flexible service, our clients can start their business right away,” a Mitsui official said.
In addition to major real-estate developers like Mitsui, companies from different industries have also been entering or expanding operations in the shared office market.
NTT Urban Development Corp. launched its “Lifork” office-sharing space in Tokyo’s Otemachi and Akihabara areas in April. The firm is also considering opening new facilities at old telephone exchanges and other facilities owned by NTT group.
Meanwhile, Tokyu Land Corp. opened its sixth “Business Airport” shared office in Tokyo’s Kanda district at the end of March.
U.S.-based WeWork Companies Inc., operator of shared workplaces worldwide, launched its first Tokyo location in Roppongi in February, followed by one in the Marunouchi district in March.
As of March, WeWork operated shared offices at 230 locations in 21 countries and had more than 210,000 members worldwide. The firm’s major selling point is that it offers members from various countries the ability to exchange information using a special app, enabling them to nurture new business opportunities.
WeWork plans to increase the number of its office-sharing spaces in Japan to 10-12 by the end of this year. Operators of shared offices are expected to face ever fiercer competition, one observer said.
Shared offices were once mainly used by freelance workers and entrepreneurs who needed a temporary place to work, but major firms have increasingly begun to use them.
Large companies aim to improve productivity and secure quality human resources by implementing work style reforms that allow employees to flexibly choose where and what times they work.
According to a survey conducted by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, 13.3 percent of company employees teleworked in fiscal 2016, and 14.8 percent did so in fiscal 2017. Teleworking is the practice of working outside of a traditional office, such as at home or in an office-share space, making use of the internet, email or telephone.
JFE Engineering Corp. employee Asako Sato, who has used a shared office, said: “I could charge my smartphone there and felt comfortable making business calls. It was much safer than doing my work at a coffee shop.”
According to an employee of a real estate firm, companies that cannot find offices that meet their needs sometimes use shared offices temporarily.
“Office-sharing meets the demands of companies that plan to expand locations. I think the number of users will increase,” said Takashi Katono, an official of major real estate services firm CBRE Inc.
Photo caption
The Yomiuri Shimbun
- April 24, 2018
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