Arup (the company I work with) has a really new exciting joint venture with Japanese conglomerate Mitsui to create low carbon investments and in particular smart energy projects. Now why is this interesting?

If you haven’t heard of Mitsui, it is a firm of 40,000 employees with fingers in many pies, of which energy and finance are particularly big pies. These pies generate roughly £37b revenue.

That’s not interesting; the interesting part is that the company began as a kimono shop in 1673.

In the artwork above (Surugacho (1856), by Hiroshige) the shop Is depicted in what is now a prime Tokyo commercial district, with Mt Fuji lingering in the distance. The shop is now the headquarters and the view to Mt Fuji probably obscured.

It appears that timing, good product, good location, having an eye for opportunity and resilience to change are principles that have worked in their favour.

It makes you wonder though, is this sort of growth possible in today’s culture and economy? I guess Mitsui thinks so, hence the JV.

By the way, Mitsui itself doesnt sell kimonos anymore, but their subsidiary Mitsukoshi does…