Crown’s been moving people around the world, not just furniture
Removal company has grown from three staff to 5,000
Jim Thompson had just US$1,000 to his name in Japan in 1965, but with that modest amount of money, a desk and two staff, he set up Transport Services International, now known as Crown Worldwide.
Half a century on, the company has become one of the world’s largest removal companies. It operates in 60 countries with 5,000 staff worldwide and had a turnover of US$830 million last year.
To turn that US$1,000 into a US$830 million business took leadership and changes in society.
Thompson, now 76, was born and raised in the United States. He had no intention of being an entrepreneur but was very interested in Asia, so after graduating from university he went to Japan in 1964 with the initial plan of learning about its history and language. To make a living, he joined a small moving company in Yokohama and learned the basics of the business.
He fell in love with the moving business and decided to set up his own firm 1965. He could not afford a grand office, just a small desk and two hired staff to help move the household goods and belongings of expatriate business families in Tokyo.
Customers were used to paying after receiving service but Thompson managed to convince them to pay cash in advance, which helped the company have a better cash flow. He managed to make profit that first year and has done so ever since.
