Happy New Year to Everyone!!
2019 has just flown past!! We have made some good, consolidated progress in 2019, as we prepare for the next decade in front of us.
In Japan, the H&R Group of companies had a very busy year. Relo Japan in Tokyo received record numbers of initiations over the summer and we had to ask some of you to put us on a slowdown. All is back to normal now, but we expect a very busy year coming as the Olympics make their way to Tokyo in the summer. Our Kobe (Osaka) Office has also had a record year and the team down there has done a great job of keeping on top of things amongst some very busy times. Things in our Nagoya Office were a little quieter this year, but there is always a lot to be done at our headquarters!!. We have started, trialed and implemented a number of important internal projects in 2019, and I am very happy with the “rate of change” within our small organization. Our furniture rental business, our car lease business, our corporate housing business and our staffing business at Staffing Japan have all had solid performances in 2019. Then, our newest business, Immigration Japan, has really taken off. We have almost doubled our case load in immigration services in 2019, which is fantastic.
In Asia, where it has now been 3.5 years since our acquisition, we have achieved a lot in 2019 after a good few years of preparation. We opened offices in Hong Kong (Kowloon) and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) and moved into a new office in Shanghai, China. We remain in the same offices in Singapore, but due to staff growth have recently done some renovations! In September of last year, we retired the “Orientations” name, and have fully re-branded ourselves as Relo Network Asia. Thanks to some new partnerships with our Relocation Management Company partners and also some direct clients, we have seen our revenues grow significantly. In order to manage the growth, we are establishing a strong team across our four Asia offices and with our Sales and Marketing team in Chicago USA, we have a strong platform to spring from in 2020. I am really proud of the team we have built and the way they continue to get stronger and stronger. We are only as good as our teamwork, something that we spent a lot of time building in 2019 that I am sure will bring us rewards in 2020. Our business in Myanmar with my business partner and now long-term colleague, Christina Zar, also continues in leaps and bounds. Every year we record more business and 2019 was no different. We are still waiting for Myanmar’s ultimate rise as a major business destination in Asia, but the time will come!
The big focus for us in the next 2 years is bringing Relo Network Asia and our businesses in Japan closer together. A number of exchanges were made in 2019 in terms of learning from each other, and that activity will continue heavily into 2020 as we strive to take advantage of the diversity of both organizations and realize the efficiencies available by sharing resources. We will be working hard in the background over the next year to bring you some bigger changes in 2021!!
Wishing you all a great start to the next decade! We look forward to working with you in 2020!!
Thank you very much and warm regards,
Steve Burson
Director, H&R Group
President, Relo Japan
CEO, Relo Network Asia
Director of Sales and Development, Myanmar Relo Solutions