Differentiation Through Consultative Capabilities, Responsiveness, Specialization and Distinctiveness

「Sales in the fragrance category remained strong, partly because the company strengthened its measured sales of perfumes.」

「In December of the same year, the company opened Athletes Casual Alex Rokko Island (Higashinada-ku, Kobe), offering a selection centered on outdoor products, including apparel, shoes and bags. In the same month, it opened Jiyugaoka WHISKY (Meguro-ku, Tokyo), offering whisky from around the world and more than 500 types of whisky, as well as measured sales of the base spirits of 9 types of whisky.」

「In July of the same year, the company renovated Alex Comfort Takamatsu Marugamemachi Green (Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture) to introduce the new category of colored contact lenses and expand its selection of items such as makeup from trend brands and foundation.」

「In April 2024, the company opened “PLAZA ALEX Hibiya Chanter” (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) as a lifestyle shop offering carefully selected products with a sophisticated and original assortment, including interior goods, bags and accessories, regardless of whether they were from Japan or overseas or major or niche brands, and selected for their ability to grow more appealing with use. In the same month, it opened “&lulu MARK IS Fukuoka Momochi” (Chuo-ku, Fukuoka), offering lifestyle goods, cosmetics, food and other items that beautify everyday life within a one-of-a-kind concept.」

「As a specific initiative, in December 2023 the company renovated Charlie Okinama (Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture) to expand its selection of cosmetics-centered items, including domestic brands, overseas luxury brands and fragrances.」

「As a specific initiative, in September 2023 the company renovated Charlie Kawauchi (Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture) to expand its cosmetics assortment, and relocated GoGoBIKE from the YAMASHIRO TERRACE complex (Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture) to Decor Kawauchi. It also renovated the store to add outdoor products and propose cycle camping.」

「As a specific initiative, following the shift to individual discretion as the basic approach to wearing masks as a COVID-19 countermeasure, the company renovated Alex Comfort Takamatsu Marugamemachi Green (Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture) in April 2023 for the “post-mask” era, including by expanding the sales area for makeup-related products and trend cosmetics.」

「In February 2023, the company opened Plaza Alex Laque Shijo Karasuma (Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City), its first store in Kyoto Prefecture, under the concepts of “proposing a new way of living” and “discovering favorites of your own.”」

「As a specific initiative, in October 2022 the company opened Alex Comfort Kishiwada Kankan Bayside Mall (Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture), selecting items suited to a comprehensive lifestyle encompassing clothing, food and housing. In November of the same year, it renovated Charlie Southern Mall Rokko (Nada-ku, Kobe) as a hybrid-format store, newly incorporating lifestyle elements such as greenery-focused kitchen goods, apparel and food products in addition to sophisticated cosmetics.」

「In April of the same year, the company opened Aoyama WHISKY Established in 2022, offering more than 500 types of whisky from Japan and overseas, including many hard-to-source whiskies such as duty-free-shop exclusives.」

「In January 2022, the company changed the store brands of Outrex Wakimachi (Mima City, Tokushima Prefecture) and Outrex Kawauchi (Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture) to Alex Sports Wakimachi and Alex Sports Kawauchi, respectively, and renovated them to expand their outdoor and sports-brand lineups.」

「As a specific initiative, in September 2021 the company renovated the food section of the Charlie Okinama store (Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture), expanding the sales area and assortment by installing tall metal fixtures and increasing the selection of attractive imported snacks and carefully selected food products. In October of the same year, it expanded the food section at Charlie Woody Town (Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture), and in November at Charlie Marugame (Marugame City, Kagawa Prefecture), it expanded the food section and renovated the store to enhance its assortment of kitchen and interior products suited to customers’ lifestyles.」

「By proposing more refined items after filtering them through the perspectives of “beauty, health, comfort and the spirit of the times,” we will continue to provide greater richness in daily life for both mind and body.」

「As a specific initiative, in April 2021 the company opened Aoyama WHISKY (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), a malt bar specializing in more than 300 types of whisky from Japan and overseas, including old bottles that are no longer produced. In May 2021, at Alex Comfort Woody Town (Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture), it expanded the apparel and kitchen-tool assortment, newly introduced distinctive local food products and changed the store brand to Plaza Alex Life Style laboratory Woody Town, reopening it under the concepts of “proposing a new way of living” and “discovering favorites of your own.”」

「In December 2020, the company opened Alex Comfort Hoshigaoka Terrace (Chikusa-ku, Nagoya), selecting cosmetics from Japan and overseas and lifestyle goods that help customers enjoy a more pleasant and beautiful everyday life. In the same month, it opened Motomachi WHISKY (Chuo-ku, Kobe), a specialty store offering approximately 1,500 types of whisky and spirits, ranging from standard products from Japan and overseas to hard-to-find premium whiskies.」

「In November 2020, Outrex Okinama (Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture) relocated to the facility housing Decor Kawauchi and Charlie Kawauchi (Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture), reopening as Outrex Kawauchi. In addition to the outlet products previously handled, it substantially expanded its lineup of products from popular Japanese outdoor gear brands that propose an outdoor lifestyle rooted in Japan’s climate and culture. As a manufacturer-certified limited-format store, it reopened with an assortment intended to serve a broader range of customers.」

「Continually refining the ability to identify truly good and needed products and deliver high-quality proposals promptly」

「In November of the same year, the company opened Charlie Branch Otsukyo (Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture), offering a broad range of products, from fashionable items to everyday necessities, including cosmetics and beauty goods, health foods, pharmaceuticals, household goods and baby products, under the themes of “beauty,” “health” and “refinement.” In particular, it offered an exceptional selection of cosmetics sourced from Japan and overseas, creating an enjoyable shopping experience and a comfortable space.」

「However, by working to improve the gross margin, including changing promotional measures from price-focused promotions to those that emphasize value, sales struggled. At the same time, numerous high-value-added, premium-priced hit products in the skincare and makeup categories sold well, significantly boosting this unit’s gross profit and average spend per customer on an existing-store basis.」

「In May of the same year, the company also carried out a major renovation of the Charlie Okinama store (Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture), including its interior and fixtures. It widened the main aisle from the front entrance to the back of the store and installed an event space with display fixtures for product proposals in the center, creating a store with a greater sense of space and openness.」

「In December 2018, the company opened Alex Comfort Icotto Nicot Okayama (Kita-ku, Okayama City), its first store in Okayama Prefecture. The hybrid-format store selects and proposes easy-to-use kitchen tools, cosmetics, interior goods and other lifestyle products from Japan and overseas, regardless of brand, to help customers enjoy a more pleasant and beautiful everyday life.」

「However, by working to improve the gross margin, including changing promotional measures from price-focused promotions to those that emphasize value, sales struggled in the laundry detergent category of the core household goods division and the shampoo category of the cosmetics division. At the same time, numerous high-value-added, premium-priced hit products in the skincare and makeup categories sold well, significantly boosting this unit’s gross profit and average spend per customer on an existing-store basis.」

「In March 2018, the Company carried out a full renovation of Alex Sports Okinohama (Tokushima, Tokushima), including the exterior and signage and the entire building. The first floor was converted into a floor concentrating casual products such as sneakers, sports apparel, training and fitness wear. The second floor was converted into a floor for highly specialised activities such as outdoor, marine, winter, running and trail running. On the third floor, the tennis and baseball sales areas were switched, strengthening proposals for sports apparel that meet a broader range of needs, including those of casual customers, while retaining the store's traditional high level of expertise.」

「At stores with a hybrid product mix, the Company contributed to attracting customers by making cross-division product proposals, including featuring household goods division products from the Health & Beauty Care Division in its advertising.」

「In product-focused advertising highlighting the value and uses of seasonal products aligned with themes, topical new products and carefully selected products, the Company increased the number of featured products from the previous focus on household goods to include cosmetics, medicines and more of Charlie's core products. In November 2017, it also introduced new categories, including imported cosmetics, fragrances, and baby clothing and toys, at Charlie Southern Mall Rokko, resulting in steady performance in the cosmetics, household goods and household goods accessory categories, among others, and average spend per customer at existing stores exceeding the previous period's results.」

「In the Health & Beauty Care Division, responses to price-focused advertising and product-focused advertising highlighting the value and uses of seasonal products aligned with themes, topical new products and carefully selected products remained strong. The cosmetics and household goods categories in particular performed steadily, resulting in customer traffic exceeding the previous period's results on an existing-store basis.」

「The Group's core mission is to deliver the spirit of the times to customers' lifestyles from the perspectives of beauty, health and comfort, and it seeks to differentiate itself from competitors by creating added value through proposal capabilities, speed, expertise and originality in the stores, products and services in its business fields.」

「In the Health & Beauty Care Division, customer traffic increased and improved year on year on an existing-store basis, driven by the traffic-generating effect of price-focused advertising and product-focused advertising highlighting the value and uses of seasonal products aligned with themes, topical new products and carefully selected products.」

「Continually refining the ability to identify truly good and needed products and deliver high-quality proposals promptly」

「In the stores, products and services in its business fields, the Company seeks to differentiate itself from competitors by creating added value through proposal capabilities, speed, expertise and originality.」