Remodeling Alcoholic Beverage Products, New Products and Overseas Sales Channels

「Although the business continued to be affected by higher product cost ratios caused by recent inflation, thorough cost management, including reductions in advertising expenses, improved the structure to one capable of generating a small profit.」

「Operating profit was negative because higher raw-material costs, storage-barrel purchases and manufacturing-equipment repairs increased the cost ratio, while ¥372 million in advertising expenses for Shin ENMA, Shin Prime ENMA and other products was incurred.」

「Domestic sales have grown steadily, but exports were significantly affected by a decline in orders, particularly from Taiwan, leaving sales roughly in line with the previous year. Operating profit was negative because higher raw-material costs, storage-barrel purchases and manufacturing-equipment repairs increased the cost ratio, while ¥359 million in advertising expenses for Shin ENMA and Shin Prime ENMA was incurred.」

「Domestic taxable sales exceeded the previous year as restaurants and tourism recovered following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, while sales of liqueurs to Taiwan declined sharply. Overall, sales exceeded the previous year. Operating profit was negative because ¥278 million in advertising expenses for Shin ENMA and Shin Prime ENMA was incurred, but we expect advertising effects from the fall onward to drive a recovery. As a result, sales were ¥473 million, up 1.2% year on year, and segment loss, or operating loss, was ¥259 million, compared with segment profit, or operating profit, of ¥62 million in the previous year.」

「The launch of Taruda Gosaku shochu, together with the effect of television advertising, contributed to higher sales. Sake sales declined because the low-margin Kimpaku product was discontinued, but this was considered to have contributed to securing profit. Exports also exceeded the previous year, depending on local orders. For the next fiscal year, we are investing in additional production equipment to increase sales and preparing to launch Shin ENMA and Shin Prime ENMA.」

「Amid the prolonged impact of COVID-19, sales and profit were recovering across all categories. As a result, sales were ¥1,434 million, up 3.2% year on year, and segment profit, or operating profit, was ¥152 million, up 24.8%.」

「Amid the prolonged impact of COVID-19, sales and profit were recovering across all categories, particularly exports of liqueurs to Taiwan. We will prepare our production structure to accommodate continued orders.」

「Amid the prolonged impact of COVID-19, sales and profit were recovering across all categories. In particular, exports of liqueurs to Taiwan grew sharply, up 242.9% year on year. We will prepare our production structure to accommodate continued orders.」

「Sales from exports, mainly to Taiwan, were strong, although」

「Although sales in many categories were below the previous year, exports of liqueurs substantially exceeded the previous year.」

「Although we focused on exports and product development to meet new needs in a difficult domestic market where sake, shochu and beer were broadly below the previous year, sales remained weak because of the decline caused by discontinuing unprofitable products, and we did not achieve sufficient results to offset it. However, through continued management-structure reform, including expense reductions through appropriate cost control, we minimized the impact of declining sales.」

「In a challenging domestic market where, excluding RTDs, sake, shochu and beer were all said to be below the previous year, our business was no exception. However, the impact of the sales decline from last year’s restructuring and discontinuation of unprofitable sake and other products finally began to subside. Although sales were below the previous year, profit remained solid. As a result, sales were ¥1,666 million, down 10.5% year on year, and segment profit, or operating profit, was ¥121 million, up 45.1%.」

「The impact of the sales decline caused by the restructuring and discontinuation of unprofitable sake and other products last year has finally begun to subside. Exports to Asia increased, and although temporary, front-loaded demand arose in the second half ahead of the consumption-tax increase. Sales were slightly below the previous year, but profit remained solid.」

「We hope to launch numerous products that could become future core products by next spring.」

「While sake and shochu are sluggish as consumers move away from alcohol, liqueurs are driving the market. However, our product mix has not yet shifted sufficiently to follow this trend, and the sharp decline in demand for core shochu products forced a substantial decline in sales as the number of discontinued items increased during the product-mix review.」

「While sake and shochu are sluggish as consumers move away from alcohol, liqueurs are driving the market. However, our product mix has not yet shifted sufficiently to benefit fully from this trend. Demand for shochu fell sharply because of poor weather and extreme summer heat, forcing a substantial decline in sales.」

「As in the previous fiscal year, we intend to establish as soon as possible a production and sales structure focused on high-value-added products and popular alcoholic beverages.」

「This created an environment in which the manufacturing, sales and administrative functions could work together organically and coordinate quickly on product development and proposal-based sales. We were prepared to shift the product mix from the next fiscal year toward products with strong growth and profitability potential and to reduce and rationalize unprofitable products.」

「As consumer preferences, particularly among younger people, shift sharply from shochu toward lower-alcohol liqueurs, wine and whiskey, we continued to focus on developing and selling high-value-added products to benefit from new demand and inbound demand, but」

「As consumer preferences, particularly among younger people, shift sharply from shochu toward lower-alcohol liqueurs, wine and whiskey, we continued to focus on developing and selling high-value-added products to benefit from new demand and inbound demand, but」

「We positioned high-value-added, high-margin products such as Enma and Kojiya Denbei as core products and developed sales activities aimed at improving performance. Although liqueurs maintained their strong performance from the previous fiscal year, sales of shochu in large containers, packaged shochu and sake were sluggish.」

「In the fourth quarter, in addition to our flagship Mugi Shochu Enma series, we will work to restore sales of the long-aged Mugi Shochu Kojiya Denbei, while pursuing proposal-based sales of liqueurs such as the plum wine that is performing well this fiscal year, with a profit-focused sales policy aimed at recovering performance.」

「In the second half, we will focus on proposal-based sales of new sake, shochu and liqueur products launched this fiscal year, while working to restore sales of our flagship products and pursuing a profit-focused sales strategy to recover performance.」

「In the second quarter, we will work to recover performance by beginning to launch new products, including fruit wines, that have been under development since the previous fiscal year.」

「We worked to strengthen the appeal and image of the business by launching the top-tier product in the Enma series, remodeling existing Enma products, developing new products through a cross-functional team of young employees, launching a regionally limited sake product targeting women that uses local Hita cedar for its aroma and packaging, and developing new overseas sales channels.」