Vector rethinks global push as founder loses control
Japan's biggest PR firm had ambitious plans to overtake Edelman atop the global rankings, but a debt crisis has put an unconventional entrepreneur/entertainer in charge.
Vector Inc, a Japanese PR agency with diversified business interests ranging from startup consulting to taxi advertising, aspired to overtake Edelman as the world's biggest PR firm. Its future is now in question following a governance scandal and leadership transfer.
With around 50 subsidiaries, Vector ranks as the biggest PR agency in Japan and as one of the world's top 15 in terms of PR fee income, with offices in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and the US. It operates Japan's largest PR distribution platform, PR Times, as well as offering video, advertising and branded content distribution, digital and direct marketing, HR and recruiting services, startup investment and incubation, and web solutions and systems integration.
Vector listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2012 and has roughly doubled in size domestically over the past decade, driven by M&A activity. With Japan accounting for around 97% of revenue, the company was planning to use sizeable cash reserves to follow a similar strategy internationally. Despite the weak yen, this appeared to be a sensible long-term bet, particularly when set against little overseas activity from domestic rivals and a client base with global aspirations of its own.
