In early 1996, I met a young Scottish couple who had the audacious idea of launching a free newspaper in Japan. Back then, no one knew what a proper “free paper” was, and there was a lot of doubt about whether it would work. The couple were Mary and Mark Devlin, and their resulting effort, Tokyo Classified, created quite a stir.

I met the Devlins to discuss additional funding for them to increase the number of pages. I remember saying at the time, “Isn’t this a bit ambitious?”

As it turns out, the magazine just kept on growing, and today as Metropolis it averages 60 pages or more. The Devlins built their vision and turned the magazine into Japan’s largest periodical both in terms of distribution volume and advertising revenue. Publishing is not an easy business, and I just had to watch in awe as the business kept flourishing.

Now, after 13 years of raising the bar for English-language publishing, the Devlins, representing their major shareholders, have sold Metropolis to Japan Inc. Holdings (JIH), the owner of Japan Inc. magazine. As the CEO of JIH, I am honored to be associated with Metropolis and its hard-working team.

So why is JIH, a B2B publishing and consulting group, moving into the consumer (B2C) market? I thought I’d take this opportunity to give the reasons why it makes sense.

1. Metropolis is at the top of its game
We know from hard experience that success in Japan usually comes to the first movers in a market. Mary and Mark Devlin were definitely first with their classifieds-supported free paper, and the current size and gloss of the publication confirms its success commercially.

2. Metropolis is Internet tolerant
As a weekly city guide, Metropolis is consumed by people on the move. It is foldable, curlable, writable, and doesn’t need a network connection or batteries when it goes out with a reader.

3. Metropolis is a great brand
Years of high-quality, entertaining content have meant that people do not need to flick through a copy of Metropolis to know whether they want to pick one up or not. Further, retailers know that Metropolis is popular and trust the brand well enough to give up valuable display space to place a few copies.

4. Metropolis is a keeper
Despite pressures and trends, Metropolis has defied a number of economic downturns both in the Japanese economy and also in the local foreign one.

5. Metropolis has lots of potential
Perhaps the greatest appeal of Metropolis for me is its potential for future growth. Yes, the magazine is at the top of its game in a crowded market. However, the content is still unique and has not yet been served to the much larger Japanese audience. If we can figure out how to do this without hurting the special flavor of Metropolis, it will allow us to create a whole new genre in the mainstream free paper market.

So does this mean that JIH will be changing Metropolis to Japanese or going hybrid? Not at all. Rather, with the judicious use of new media (web, mobile, and events) we hope to create some interesting extensions of the brand and content into the Japanese youth market. And if for no other reason, we believe that we’ll be noticed for the Personals, which are always entertaining. :-)

Lastly, I wish Mary and Mark the very best of luck in their new venture, and say “thanks” for creating such a great magazine.


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