Strengthening the Recruitment and Development of Talent

「In the consumption environment, efforts are progressing toward OMO, the integration of digital and physical channels, which guides customers seamlessly between e-commerce and physical stores. The need to use social media has also increased further, while securing and developing personnel have become challenges.」

「The Company promotes diversity by respecting differences in gender, nationality, new graduates and mid-career hires, among others, so that a broad range of personnel can demonstrate their individuality and abilities. To improve employee health and the working environment, it has introduced a reduced-hours work system following childcare and nursing-care leave. To achieve work-life balance, it is promoting the use of annual paid leave through a system allowing leave to be taken in half-day units, and has also introduced refresh leave and other measures, progressively improving and developing the working environment.」

「The Company will make initiatives integrating online and offline channels, particularly the reciprocal referral of customers between e-commerce and physical stores, the core of its customer strategy. In response to severe labor shortages, it regards raising wages, improving employment conditions, securing store employees and human resources capable of taking on new businesses as important issues. It will expand opportunities for more employees to play active roles and focus on developing next-generation leaders with a view to the future.」

「Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company shifted stores and personnel to Iluci 300, its ¥300 fixed-price general merchandise shop, which had steadily expanded its performance. It will continue to position the format as a core business in general merchandise and expand it, including through new store openings. The Company will also expand its staffing structure for online sales, which are indispensable to the Group's growth,」

「During the cumulative first quarter, operating profit was ¥2 million, down 83.6% year on year, as the Company made upfront investments, including active sales promotion and increased staffing, to strengthen internet sales.」

「As the Group seeks further growth, it believes it needs to expand the headquarters staff supporting existing businesses and develop human resources capable of taking on new businesses. To this end, it will expand opportunities for more employees to play active roles, continue to proactively promote young executives and focus on developing next-generation leaders.」

「The Company will expand opportunities for more employees to play active roles, develop next-generation leaders through the proactive promotion of young executives, and foster a culture in which the entire Group can experience growth.」

「In addition to continuing to focus on optimizing inventory and maintaining and improving product freshness, the Company strengthened measures including increased recruitment and improved treatment of existing staff to address chronic labor shortages at stores.」

「To support further expansion of store openings from the next fiscal year onward, the Company strengthened efforts to recruit new sales staff and optimize the sales staffing structure at existing stores.」

「The Company will continue to pursue a low-cost management strategy as an unchanged management policy, while striving to make appropriate investments to secure personnel for its stores and develop the human resources who will lead management in the future.」