Month: August 2006

  • SoftBank accounting adjustments – a Red Herring interview

    SoftBank accounting adjustments – a Red Herring interview

    SoftBank accounting adjustments Vodafone Japan turn around under SoftBank – Interview for Red Herring Helped RedHerring with an interview on the recent SoftBank accounting adjustment. The article is entitled “Softbank Falls on Lehman Cut” and appeared on the RedHerring website on August 28, 2006. Our company also recently advised a major global financial institution on…

  • SoftBank rebrands Roppongi store from Vodafone red to SoftBank white/silver

    SoftBank rebrands Roppongi store from Vodafone red to SoftBank white/silver

    SoftBank acquired Vodafone’s Japan operations and lost no time to rebrand the company Speed is one of SoftBank’s success factors On March 17, 2006 SoftBank announced the acquisition of Vodafone Japan with co-investment by Yahoo KK, sealing the end of Vodafone’s operations in Japan, and Vodafone’s exit from Japan. SoftBank did not lose a moment…

  • YAHOO and Google’s mobile strategies

    YAHOO and Google’s mobile strategies

    Japan is a couple of years ahead of Europe and US in mobile communications by most measures What are GOOGLE and YAHOO doing in Japan’s mobile sector? GOOGLE started mobile operations in Japan by partnering with KDDI (Japan’s No. 2 mobile operator with about 25 million mobile subscribers) to develop mobile search. YAHOO-Japan made a…

  • SoftBank transforms former Vodafone Roppongi flagship store

    SoftBank transforms former Vodafone Roppongi flagship store

    Speed is one factor for SoftBank’s success Following the acquisition of Vodafone-Japan, SoftBank quickly turns round the company Today, August 26, 2006, SoftBank (read our report on SoftBank here) opened the remodeled and rebranded Roppongi flagship store. The SoftBank Roppongi store is designed in light colors using a color scheme including mainly white, silver and…

  • iPhone for Japan? iTunes/iPod phones?

    iPhone for Japan? iTunes/iPod phones?

    There is a lot of discussions about whether Steve jobs is going to announce an iPhone or iPod-Phone at the Apple Computer Developer’s Conference in SF – according to the headline report on Saturday May 13th, 2006 in Nihon Keizai Shinbun ( the world’s largest business daily ) it’s already known since May this year…

  • SoftBank a small fry, writes BusinessWeek …. really??

    SoftBank a small fry, writes BusinessWeek …. really??

    Comparing Apple and SoftBank Is SoftBank really smaller than Apple Computer? In my 20 years of business and work between US/Japan and EU/Japan, I am often surprised how Western executives underestimate economic size and strength of Japan and it’s companies – here is another example:BusinessWeek writes about the SoftBank/iPod phone, and writes that former Apple…