Ch.4: Welcome to Fanatics Japan

Note: This is Chapter Four, which follows the Ch.3: Winter Cup. While it can be read on its own, it’s best enjoyed in order.

After scanning a hundred pages of introductory materials from Fanatics Japan, I roughly captured the system and construction.

To make it concise, it’s all about “We Amplify Fandom.”

With approved rights to sell teams’ or leagues’ goods to their fans, Fanatics stands as a cutting-edge global merchandising company, raising huge amounts of revenue, part of which they usually share or give back to who they call content holders (teams or leagues in this context). Content holders include the NBA (my favorite), the MLB with the huge impact Shohei Ohtani has given, Paris Saint-Germain, a few teams in the NPB (Japan’s top baseball league), and the list goes on.

Fanatics sells these commodities mainly through e-commerce (EC), retail stores, or wholesale. They also built their own merchandise model called V-Commerce to create products under their own brand, shorten the lead time—the amount of time it takes from manufacturing to launching products—and ultimately deliver the one-of-a-kind experience they define as A Fanatics Experience to sports fans. This isn’t a thorough explanation of what Fanatics does, but even with this, you can see how they’ve embodied their motto for years.

Needless to say, I didn’t have this depth of understanding when I first looked at those introductory materials. When I actually read the pile of documents, I was just amazed at how this company—one I was about to join as an intern—had partnered with the most prestigious and popular leagues and teams in the world. It was literally like a dream.

I had a 1-on-1—a brief meeting between two people—with Mr. Mizushima, to review what I learned and to get answers to the questions I’d written down, as he had asked at the end of Chapter 2.

I listed a couple of things: the criteria for choosing which teams or leagues to contract with, and the outlook for future events (since the MLB Tokyo Series with Dodgers and Cubs was upcoming). He neatly responded to each query and lastly noted that the questions I genuinely carry are invaluable. He encouraged me to keep asking them—to him, to others, and along my own journey—because that’s how my understanding grows, not just of the company but of the meaning of work and internship itself.

Honestly, in hindsight, this blog is the residue of my questions and their brilliant answers.

With that, my first day at Fanatics Japan ended.

If I’m allowed to count Winter Cup as Day 2, then the official working day started from Day 3.

That day, December 26th, I finally got my laptop on my desk. The first thing to do was set up my Microsoft account. Yet, there was some trouble with my setup, which restricted my use of certain apps and workspaces.

My first agenda that day was to introduce myself on Slack, in the channel called general (Fanatics Japan). I first sent my draft to Mr. Mizushima, and with his go-sign, I sent it to everyone in the channel—literally every worker at Fanatics Japan. I can’t recall the exact number, but there was even a warning before sending that this message would reach 200+ people, asking if I was sure. Sending one short message to 200+ people was not an everyday experience, so it was a bit thrilling.

After Slack, I greeted people around the office with Mr. Mizushima’s help. The fact that I was a sixteen-year-old high schooler, able to speak English despite never living abroad or attending an international school, and interning at such an early stage of life, sparked reactions from everyone I met that day. I heard things like “He’s a genius!” “Internship as a high school student? Incredible!” or “Youngest prospect!” I was feeling myself, literally.

It was like being LeBron James entering the NBA straight out of high school at 18, or Luka Dončić already becoming a superstar at Real Madrid at just 15. I was beyond pleased with their warm greetings and compliments, and I was excited to live up to their expectations. Even though I hadn’t accomplished anything yet, I was sure, in that moment, that I hadn’t been wrong about choosing this company.

Still, it wasn’t long before this ecstasy was demolished.

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This chapter is entirely written by Genki Kano. Any disclosed information of people appeared in this story has been generously approved for public sharing.

Stay tuned for the next chapter: Strategy Office