Toyota moving American HQ from Los Angeles area to Plano: Possible development of Japanese community in DFW

[VicMan]

Toyota is moving its American headquarters to Plano: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20140428/CARNEWS/140429860

 

What kind of development will the DFW area see?

 

This may help Dallas develop its Japanese community. Currently there is a small Japanese community in the DFW area but it is not visible. Since Toyota is moving to Plano, how do you think this will affect whatever Japanese community DFW will have? Oftentimes there are temporary Japanese employees who move to the U.S. for three to five years with their families before coming back to Japan. There are some possibilities:
 

• Japanese nationals may enroll their children in Plano ISD schools and the district may start having services and information available in Japanese in addition to Spanish and Chinese
• The part-time Japanese school might prosper. It holds its classes on Saturdays at Ted Polk Middle School in Carrollton. I doubt there will be enough demand for a full-time Japanese school.
• Area services such as hospitals, doctors, etc. may get services for Japanese people (translators, websites, etc.). In American suburbs with Japanese expats it's not uncommon to see businesses even having websites in Japanese
• There may be more Japanese grocery stores opening in the Plano area
• I do not know if Toyota owns the houses the temporary Japanese employees live in, or if Toyota contracts with third parties. If it's the latter it may affect the rental market. If it's the former, Toyota may buy houses and/or condominiums for its temporary Japanese national employees. I can imagine Toyota would only buy houses zoned to "good schools".

It would be interesting to see if this also affects the anime dubbing company Funimation, which is based in Flower Mound and was started by a Japanese-American man named Gen Fukunaga.

[Montrose1100]

I don't know the number of Japanese residents currently in the DFW area but I'm pretty sure not all 5,000 employees moving are Japanese. Good for Plano. DFW has a marketing edge Houston might never embrace. It's a blessing and a curse.

[VicMan]

I don't know the number of Japanese residents currently in the DFW area but I'm pretty sure not all 5,000 employees moving are Japanese. Good for Plano. DFW has a marketing edge Houston might never embrace. It's a blessing and a curse.

I know Toyota has American employees at its Torrance office. It's a good question on how many Japanese and how many Americans they employ.

[kennyc05]

What's the marketing edge?

[ArchFan]

This is good for Plano and Dallas in general, of course.  OTOH, I tend to doubt it will bring enough Japanese nationals in to make a really big impact, such as making a lot more Japanese grocery stores viable.  I'm sure it will help whatever ones are there, though.

 

This is just my opinion, for what it's worth, but it is based mostly on being connected through a friend to Japanese nationals (ex-pats) who work in Houston for various companies that are involved in machinery, chemicals, and the O&G business.  Surprisingly, that is a lot of people, and I hear a lot about their preferences in terms of where to live, shop, send their kids to school, etc.

 

I also know Torrance, CA, fairly well.  In addition to having a great climate, it has a Japanese community that goes back over 100 years.  I.e., a lot of grocery stores, restaurants, and the like, ever since Japanese people started farming there way back.    So ... the move might be a step-down for Japanese ex-pats in terms of amenities, but I'm guessing that is a much smaller group, compared to the thousands of jobs filled by natives that will move to DFW.

 

 

[VicMan]

I'm interested in hearing more about the Houston Japanese community's preferences. I know that there is a Saturday school for Japanese held at Westchester Academy.

 

This is good for Plano and Dallas in general, of course.  OTOH, I tend to doubt it will bring enough Japanese nationals in to make a really big impact, such as making a lot more Japanese grocery stores viable.  I'm sure it will help whatever ones are there, though.

 

This is just my opinion, for what it's worth, but it is based mostly on being connected through a friend to Japanese nationals (ex-pats) who work in Houston for various companies that are involved in machinery, chemicals, and the O&G business.  Surprisingly, that is a lot of people, and I hear a lot about their preferences in terms of where to live, shop, send their kids to school, etc.

 

I also know Torrance, CA, fairly well.  In addition to having a great climate, it has a Japanese community that goes back over 100 years.  I.e., a lot of grocery stores, restaurants, and the like, ever since Japanese people started farming there way back.    So ... the move might be a step-down for Japanese ex-pats in terms of amenities, but I'm guessing that is a much smaller group, compared to the thousands of jobs filled by natives that will move to DFW.

 

[ArchFan]

I'm interested in hearing more about the Houston Japanese community's preferences. I know that there is a Saturday school for Japanese held at Westchester Academy.

 

Well, I asked my friend who is connected to some people in the Houston Japanese community.  He said the program he knows about (and has visited several times) is at Glenchester, which has a "Japanese school" on Saturdays.  I understand that a big reason Japanese ex-pats send their kids there is to keep them connected with Japanese culture.  Apparently, they give the kids homework that is harder than what they get from going to American school during the week, so they don't like that.  :-) 

 

The families mostly live in west Memorial, although many have moved to the Cinco Ranch area.   They sometimes shop at the Korea-oriented H-Mart on Blalock @ Westview, but for certain Japanese things, their only resource is the Daido store on Westheimer @ Wilcrest.  

 

He also said that he was impressed by the display of kids' work in the "Japanese area" of Glenchester, compared to that displayed in the rest of the facility.  

[plumber2]

What's the marketing edge?

 

Yeah, what marketing edge. I've heard that Toyota was lured away from California using Texas Enterprise funds. I don't get how it's alright to pay, or lure a business to your area, if it's going to cost taxpayers money. Yes, I'm aware of all of the downstream benefits, the synergistic affect and so forth, but what about the companies that are already here in Texas, the ones already paying taxes and shouldering the burden. Can't they get these tax benefits too? What if an existing company threatens to leave unless they get tax cuts, or a big Texas Enterprise payment? Is that okay too? Is that really a marketing edge?

 

[H-Town Man]

What's the marketing edge?

 

Dallas has historically been better at marketing itself than Houston. Peter Marzio attributed Houston's lag behind other cities in this area to our economy being mostly wholesale companies, which do not sell directly to consumers - hence, not many marketing firms in the area. Whereas Dallas is full of retail companies and has the apparel economy, the trade marts, etc. The result is that there's much more marketing talent in Dallas than in Houston, and more of a marketing mindset overall.

 

Most companies that relocate to Texas or within Texas that aren't oil related (and hence could conceivably locate anywhere) seem to pick Dallas. Boeing considered Dallas before opting for Chicago. AT&T moved from San Antonio to Dallas, although they did have large existing offices there. Now Toyota. Even Exxon when it moved to Texas somehow passed over Houston and picked Irving, although most of their workforce is in Houston. They've built a better image around the country than we have, and it pays dividends.

[ToryGattis]

Dallas has historically been better at marketing itself than Houston. Peter Marzio attributed Houston's lag behind other cities in this area to our economy being mostly wholesale companies, which do not sell directly to consumers - hence, not many marketing firms in the area. Whereas Dallas is full of retail companies and has the apparel economy, the trade marts, etc. The result is that there's much more marketing talent in Dallas than in Houston, and more of a marketing mindset overall.

 

Most companies that relocate to Texas or within Texas that aren't oil related (and hence could conceivably locate anywhere) seem to pick Dallas. Boeing considered Dallas before opting for Chicago. AT&T moved from San Antonio to Dallas, although they did have large existing offices there. Now Toyota. Even Exxon when it moved to Texas somehow passed over Houston and picked Irving, although most of their workforce is in Houston. They've built a better image around the country than we have, and it pays dividends.

 

It is true they have better marketing talent and branding up there, but there's another factor: no company outside of the energy industry wants to compete with energy companies to attract and hold talent.  The energy companies can always overpay to get the talent they want.  This was also part of why Toyota put their truck plant in San Antonio instead of Houston (although I'm sure the Eagle Ford shale boom is giving them fits now holding on to workers at affordable salaries).  It makes Dallas a safer bet for non-energy companies.  I tend to think of it as tech goes to Austin, energy goes to Houston, and everybody else goes to DFW.

[mollusk]

I remember reading somewhere or another (perhaps on a Woodlands area thread) that when Exxon was moving its top echelon out of New York, they intentionally did not consider Houston or other places with large existing operations because they wanted to have some distance.

[Houston19514]

I remember reading somewhere or another (perhaps on a Woodlands area thread) that when Exxon was moving its top echelon out of New York, they intentionally did not consider Houston or other places with large existing operations because they wanted to have some distance.

 

That is exactly correct.

[ArchFan]

I remember reading somewhere or another (perhaps on a Woodlands area thread) that when Exxon was moving its top echelon out of New York, they intentionally did not consider Houston or other places with large existing operations because they wanted to have some distance.

 

I read that, too, but it struck me as a convenient excuse.  I think the top guys just preferred to live in Dallas.   Partly because many of them were Mobil-heritage North Texans in the first place.  Perhaps some one more versed in XOM history could comment?

[Ross]

The move of Exxon HQ to the Dallas area occurred well before the merger with Mobil, so Mobil executive input had nothing to do with the decision.

[Houston19514]

I read that, too, but it struck me as a convenient excuse. I think the top guys just preferred to live in Dallas. Partly because many of them were Mobil-heritage North Texans in the first place. Perhaps some one more versed in XOM history could comment?

The Houston self - loathing on this forum never ceases to amaze. Contemporaneous statements from people who handled the HQ site search for Exxon (and it was Exxon at the time, not ExxonMobil) made it very clear Houston was never considered and neither was any other city that had a significant Exxon operation. Just like with the more recent Boeing HQ relocation, they required the HQ to be separated from their operations and other offices.

[VicMan]

I wonder why companies do that. Many airlines want to be headquartered at the very airports that are their hubs.

 

The Houston self - loathing on this forum never ceases to amaze. Contemporaneous statements from people who handled the HQ site search for Exxon (and it was Exxon at the time, not ExxonMobil) made it very clear Houston was never considered and neither was any other city that had a significant Exxon operation. Just like with the more recent Boeing HQ relocation, they required the HQ to be separated from their operations and other offices.

 

[ToryGattis]

I wonder why companies do that. Many airlines want to be headquartered at the very airports that are their hubs.

 

Airlines are a single large business, and of course they want to be near their largest hub.  Companies like Exxon have dozens of large business units run semi-autonomously.  They want the overall HQ to have some distance from those units, so they evaluate their performance objectively/analytically and not get biased (as much) by personalities and relationships.  It also helps prevent favoritism towards executives of any one business unit for promotions to HQ, which might happen if they were co-located.  Disappoints me too though - I'd love to see the Exxon HQ in Houston.

[H-Town Man]

It is true they have better marketing talent and branding up there, but there's another factor: no company outside of the energy industry wants to compete with energy companies to attract and hold talent.  The energy companies can always overpay to get the talent they want.  This was also part of why Toyota put their truck plant in San Antonio instead of Houston (although I'm sure the Eagle Ford shale boom is giving them fits now holding on to workers at affordable salaries).  It makes Dallas a safer bet for non-energy companies.  I tend to think of it as tech goes to Austin, energy goes to Houston, and everybody else goes to DFW.

 

This seems a bit defeatist, especially the last sentence, like there's not much we can do to broaden ourselves since we have the energy industry. In addition to Dallas's marketing abilities, I think there are a few other things benefitting them for corporate relocations:

 

1. More central location - companies that aren't from the South may tend to see Houston as a little more "down there" than Dallas, which is not so far into uncharted territory. Perhaps this disadvantage could be turned on its head if we convincingly market ourselves as a coastal/port city and hence more international, while Dallas is more in the sticks?  Proximity to Gulf > Proximity to Oklahoma

 

2. Marginally better weather. Hotter but less humid. This is somewhat offset by Houston's greener and more attractive vegetation. But this greenness and its potential are in turn offset by...

 

3. Aesthetics. Dallas looks more orderly, less wild and untamed, for reasons that have been discussed in numerous other threads. There is a charm in this for Houston, the charm of a boomtown or some city in the southern hemisphere, but the people in companies relocating from the West Coast or the Midwest tend to appreciate this charm less than folks like Hunter S. Thompson or Larry McMurtry.

 

Of all these #3 rankles me the most, since we should geographically be the more pretty city to look at, a potential "garden city" like New Orleans. Perhaps some day we will have enough civic courage to say, for example, "this street is a boulevard - there will be no gas stations or drive thru restaurants on this street," etc. Right now we enjoy the benefits of our predominance in the energy industry, but single-industry towns often have a rough fate.

[livincinco]

I don't think that it's accurate to categorize Houston as a single industry town.  To do so ignores the diversification of the economy that has occurred since the 1980's.  Houston is certainly a more diverse town in all aspects than it was then.  The local economy is growing in many areas, especially considering the growth of the Medical Center and the growth of the Ship Channel.  The problem is that the growth in energy is so dramatic that it dwarfs what's happening in everything else. 

 

I think it's also important to remember that growth rates in Houston are among the highest in the country in jobs and population and that there is a huge amount of development going on that will continue to make the city a more desirable place to live and work in the future.  There's a tremendous amount of positive momentum in this city that will continue to make it more attractive moving forward.

 

 

 

 

[ToryGattis]

I agree with the points made by both of you guys. Dallas also has the advantages of no major hurricane risk and more domestic flights from DFW (both number and destinations, although we win on international).  But also note that our big non-energy industries - health care, NASA, Ship Channel - all have reasons they're forced to be here (including the establishment of the TMC complex in 1945).  We do have a smattering of big non-energy companies (HP, BMC Software, Service Corp, Waste Mgt, etc), each with some historical reason they ended up in Houston, but I have trouble thinking of any major non-energy companies that were based elsewhere that chose to come to Houston?  I'm not saying our amenities are bad or that we're inferior to Dallas (anybody who reads my blog knows that very well!), I'm just saying there are specific reasons non-energy companies moving to Texas often pick Austin or Dallas, and not competing with the cash-flush energy industry for talent is one of those reasons.  It's unfortunate our dominant industry that has done so much for us has that downside, but it's not surprising when you think about it.

 

I have often thought that with our international diversity, wide range of international flights, and central location, we should work harder to attract U.S. divisional headquarters for the "Americas" operations of foreign companies.  If you were a major European or Asian company and wanted to set up an "Americas" division HQ, can you think of a better city for it than Houston?

[ArchFan]

The move of Exxon HQ to the Dallas area occurred well before the merger with Mobil, so Mobil executive input had nothing to do with the decision.

 

Thank you.  I did have the dates and details mixed up and I appreciate the correction!  

 

That happened long ago enough that I suspect my comment was motivated in large part by the (continuing) disappointment people in Houston had when the HQ moved out of NYC, but not to here.  

 

I still have reasons to be cynical about how decisions are made at the top level of some companies.  But, that is a bit off-topic, so I'll stop here.

[ArchFan]

The Houston self - loathing on this forum never ceases to amaze. Contemporaneous statements from people who handled the HQ site search for Exxon (and it was Exxon at the time, not ExxonMobil) made it very clear Houston was never considered and neither was any other city that had a significant Exxon operation. Just like with the more recent Boeing HQ relocation, they required the HQ to be separated from their operations and other offices.

 

I'm sorry you interpret my comment as an example of Houston self-loathing.  In making my comment, I think the emotional context was that I thought (and think) my hometown of Houston would benefit in the future if we put a little more collective effort into keeping our house painted and our lawn mowed and watered (so to speak).  I think we have lost a bit of that mentality over my lifetime.  Sometimes I think that may be due in part to no longer having  as many powerful civic leaders as we used to (e.g., Jesse Jones, George Brown, et al.).  Conversely, I think Dallas has benefited, at least in some ways, by having continued to have those kind of people active in the community -- people who are proud of their city and have financial means and vision to nudge it towards (perhaps) a better future.

[H-Town Man]

I'm sorry you interpret my comment as an example of Houston self-loathing. In making my comment, I think the emotional context was that I thought (and think) my hometown of Houston would benefit in the future if we put a little more collective effort into keeping our house painted and our lawn mowed and watered (so to speak). I think we have lost a bit of that mentality over my lifetime. Sometimes I think that may be due in part to no longer having as many powerful civic leaders as we used to (e.g., Jesse Jones, George Brown, et al.). Conversely, I think Dallas has benefited, at least in some ways, by having continued to have those kind of people active in the community -- people who are proud of their city and have financial means and vision to nudge it towards (perhaps) a better future.

Good point, and some of those shoes are hard to fill, but at some point as you become a real city you stop relying on benevolent oligarchs to "keep the house painted" and instead accomplish those things through an active and involved citizenry. Long gone are the days when a city like e.g. Boston looked to Mr. Coolidge or Ms. Garner to make sure the Public Garden was kept looking nice.

[ArchFan]

Good point, and some of those shoes are hard to fill, but at some point as you become a real city you stop relying on benevolent oligarchs to "keep the house painted" and instead accomplish those things through an active and involved citizenry. Long gone are the days when a city like e.g. Boston looked to Mr. Coolidge or Ms. Garner to make sure the Public Garden was kept looking nice.

 

Quite true!  OTOH, it's hard to predict whether, going forward, we will have enough engaged citizenry to do as much as in the past, in part due to the influence of "oligarchs".  Without such guys, we wouldn't have Hermann Park, the TMC, Rice University, Memorial Park, River Oaks.  Perhaps the Astrodome is another example (but, a sad story there).  Or the Julia Ideson Building downtown (Carnegie). 

 

With regard to Dallas, I'll have to leave it to someone else to provide details of the benefits of past and present philanthropy.  However, I do see that in recent history, Trammell Crow has contributed a lot to a couple of recent museums, as well as the very nice garden on White Rock Lake.  Also, the (perhaps controversial) Calatrava Bridge that one of the Hunts contributed to.  Perhaps one could add the over-the-top stadium the Cowboys play in.

 

I not aware of any recent projects in Houston that are on the scale of those, although Nau and McNair have helped out on some nice projects ... and of course, there have been quite a few projects at TMC that were partially funded by philanthropists.

[Houston19514]

Quite true!  OTOH, it's hard to predict whether, going forward, we will have enough engaged citizenry to do as much as in the past, in part due to the influence of "oligarchs".  Without such guys, we wouldn't have Hermann Park, the TMC, Rice University, Memorial Park, River Oaks.  Perhaps the Astrodome is another example (but, a sad story there).  Or the Julia Ideson Building downtown (Carnegie). 

 

With regard to Dallas, I'll have to leave it to someone else to provide details of the benefits of past and present philanthropy.  However, I do see that in recent history, Trammell Crow has contributed a lot to a couple of recent museums, as well as the very nice garden on White Rock Lake.  Also, the (perhaps controversial) Calatrava Bridge that one of the Hunts contributed to.  Perhaps one could add the over-the-top stadium the Cowboys play in.

 

I not aware of any recent projects in Houston that are on the scale of those, although Nau and McNair have helped out on some nice projects ... and of course, there have been quite a few projects at TMC that were partially funded by philanthropists.

 

Besides the fairly regular TMC philanthropically-funded projects:

Beck Building at MFAH.

Soon-to-come new building and new Glassel Art School Building at MFAH

Continued development of the Menil

Discovery Green

Buffalo Bayou Park

Bayou greenways project

Houston Ballet Center for Dance

Nau Center (as alluded to)

Total restoration/refurbishment/improvement of Hermann Park

Doubling the size of Houston Museum of Natural Science

AD Players Theater breaking ground this summer

MATCH in midtown just started construction

Rice U Opera House to start soon

Alley Theater is being completely refurbished/cleaned/remodeled/improved.

Childrens Museum was pretty recently doubled in size.

 

I'm sure I'm missing many others.

[H-Town Man]

Quite true! OTOH, it's hard to predict whether, going forward, we will have enough engaged citizenry to do as much as in the past, in part due to the influence of "oligarchs". Without such guys, we wouldn't have Hermann Park, the TMC, Rice University, Memorial Park, River Oaks. Perhaps the Astrodome is another example (but, a sad story there). Or the Julia Ideson Building downtown (Carnegie).

With regard to Dallas, I'll have to leave it to someone else to provide details of the benefits of past and present philanthropy. However, I do see that in recent history, Trammell Crow has contributed a lot to a couple of recent museums, as well as the very nice garden on White Rock Lake. Also, the (perhaps controversial) Calatrava Bridge that one of the Hunts contributed to. Perhaps one could add the over-the-top stadium the Cowboys play in.

I not aware of any recent projects in Houston that are on the scale of those, although Nau and McNair have helped out on some nice projects ... and of course, there have been quite a few projects at TMC that were partially funded by philanthropists.

I didn't mean that an active citizenry would replace philanthropy - nothing really does - but that it would replace the need for patricians to make sure the city keeps its parks in good condition, its built environment looking orderly/decent, etc. Maintains itself.

[livincinco]

I didn't mean that an active citizenry would replace philanthropy - nothing really does - but that it would replace the need for patricians to make sure the city keeps its parks in good condition, its built environment looking orderly/decent, etc. Maintains itself.

 

I think that part of this is a result of changes in philanthropy which I think has really been driven by the Gates Foundation.  My impression is that individual philanthropy was more local in nature in the past, but recently there is a lot more emphasis on solving "big" problems.

 

A great example of this is the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.  They're spreading their wealth much more widely around the world than previous Houston givers.

[ArchFan]

I think that part of this is a result of changes in philanthropy which I think has really been driven by the Gates Foundation.  My impression is that individual philanthropy was more local in nature in the past, but recently there is a lot more emphasis on solving "big" problems.

 

A great example of this is the Laura and John Arnold Foundation.  They're spreading their wealth much more widely around the world than previous Houston givers.

 

That is my impression, also.

 

I hear what Houston 19514 is saying and those are all wonderful examples of locally oriented philanthropy.  But ... they are not on the scale of what (for example) the Crows have done in Dallas recently, which strikes me as more similar to the old-school philanthropy that has a big focus promoting one's home town (and I'm sorry, but ego, too).   But, as a Houstonian, I wouldn't look gift horse in the mouth, either!  I admit that getting some big flashy projects here would be nice.  OTOH,  I also admit that I have more admiration for people who do good deeds without having to call a great deal of attention to themselves.

 

By no means do I want to dismiss the contributions people have made to projects in Houston.  They just don't seem as flashy as what I continue to see in our sister city to the north.  And, maybe that's OK.  The difference just called my attention, so that's why I mentioned it.

[swtsig]

That is my impression, also.

I hear what Houston 19514 is saying and those are all wonderful examples of locally oriented philanthropy. But ... they are not on the scale of what (for example) the Crows have done in Dallas recently, which strikes me as more similar to the old-school philanthropy that has a big focus promoting one's home town (and I'm sorry, but ego, too). But, as a Houstonian, I wouldn't look gift horse in the mouth, either! I admit that getting some big flashy projects here would be nice. OTOH, I also admit that I have more admiration for people who do good deeds without having to call a great deal of attention to themselves.

By no means do I want to dismiss the contributions people have made to projects in Houston. They just don't seem as flashy as what I continue to see in our sister city to the north. And, maybe that's OK. The difference just called my attention, so that's why I mentioned it.

The buffalo bayou redevelopment which was spurred by kinders $35M is one of the greater philanthropic civic projects in the country.

[livincinco]

The buffalo bayou redevelopment which was spurred by kinders $35M is one of the greater philanthropic civic projects in the country.

Agreed. There is still a fair amount of local philanthropy that occurs and certainly nothing wrong with that, but I do believe that there is a significant percentage of dollars that has been shifted to other priorities.