Qualitative transformation of the business structure, systems and operating model

「Against this backdrop, in the drugstore business, the Group promoted a dominant-store strategy in the Kanto, Chubu and Kansai regions, while accelerating the launch of new stores and renovating existing stores to meet local needs. It also strengthened the rollout of private-brand products and worked to improve customer satisfaction through promotional initiatives based on each customer's purchasing data and other information.」

「Under the Total Healthcare Strategy, in addition to selling pharmaceuticals, health foods, cosmetics and daily necessities, we operate pharmacy-attached drugstores that provide prescription dispensing and home healthcare in collaboration with local healthcare professionals. We also operate a nationwide chain of pharmacies serving as local family pharmacies from Hokkaido to Kyushu, as well as healthcare businesses including home-nursing services and support for the opening of medical institutions, and product supply and trading businesses for overseas markets.」

「Under the Total Healthcare Strategy, in addition to selling pharmaceuticals, health foods, cosmetics and daily necessities, we operate pharmacy-attached drugstores that provide prescription dispensing and home healthcare in collaboration with local healthcare professionals. We also operate a nationwide chain of pharmacies serving as local family pharmacies from Hokkaido to Kyushu, as well as healthcare businesses including home-nursing services and support for the opening of medical institutions, and product supply and trading businesses for overseas markets.」

「In the pharmacy business, we expanded and renovated pharmacy and waiting areas to respond to the growing number of prescriptions handled, while working to acquire more prescriptions requiring advanced expertise and strengthen our sales base in the pharmacy business. We also promoted family pharmacists and family pharmacies by enhancing pharmacists’ specialist training and introducing electronic prescription systems. To improve productivity, we pursued overall optimization by assigning medical administrative personnel and optimizing staffing allocations at individual stores.」

「In the pharmacy business, our Group promoted new store openings and actively expanded and renovated pharmacy and waiting areas to respond to the growing number of prescriptions handled.」

「In the pharmacy business, our Group promoted new store openings and actively expanded and renovated pharmacy and waiting areas to respond to the growing number of prescriptions handled. We also promoted face-to-face services by strengthening pharmacists’ specialist training and worked to acquire prescriptions requiring advanced expertise. In addition, to strengthen our response to end-of-life care, we entered into a capital and business alliance agreement with Japan Hospice Holdings Inc. on 16 June.」

「Against this backdrop, in strengthening the pharmacy business we worked to increase sales by further promoting downloads of our family-pharmacy app, which has surpassed 1 million users, and by expanding and renovating pharmacy and waiting areas. We also pursued detailed optimization of personnel allocation to strengthen face-to-face services and stepped up the recruitment of pharmacists and medical administrative personnel.」

「Under these circumstances, the Group will promote sustainable growth through the rollout of the total healthcare strategy, centered on contributing to community healthcare, an unchanged founding principle; stronger development of digital transformation (DX); initiatives in human-capital management; ESG initiatives aimed at achieving coexistence of social and economic value; and stronger recruitment and development of human resources who will support the future.」

「The Group formulated a medium-term management plan beginning in the fiscal year ending February 2023. Covering the five-year period through the fiscal year ending February 2027, the plan will promote sustainable growth through the rollout of the total healthcare strategy, centered on contributing to community healthcare, an unchanged founding principle; stronger development of digital transformation (DX); ESG initiatives aimed at achieving coexistence of social and economic value; and stronger recruitment and development of human resources who will support the future.」

「In the dispensing business, the Group worked to expand the area further by opening new pharmacies, enlarging and renovating dispensing rooms and waiting areas, strengthening communications to increase dispensing utilization, promoting downloads of its family-pharmacy app, and actively recruiting pharmacists. In the retail business, it conducted joint sales-promotion activities with business partners under the banner of its 45th anniversary to increase sales, promoted a sound store portfolio through new openings, renovations and relocations for future business expansion, and built a “digital CRM platform” to achieve one-to-one sales promotion. To improve productivity, it expanded the scope of automatic ordering, reduced store work through system upgrades, optimized working hours by reviewing staffing levels, and worked with business partners to optimize the entire supply chain through integrated manufacturing, distribution and retail operations.」

「Under the medium-term management plan, we will promote sustainable growth across the Group by making the development of the Total Healthcare Strategy, aimed at contributing to community healthcare as a founding principle that has remained unchanged since our establishment, the core of the plan, while strengthening digital transformation, promoting ESG initiatives aimed at reconciling social and economic value, and strengthening the recruitment and development of human resources who will support the future.」

「In this environment, the Group continued operating its stores to fulfill its role as social infrastructure supporting local communities, while thoroughly implementing infection-prevention measures such as requiring employees to wear masks, installing splash-prevention filters at registers and medication-counseling counters, and maintaining disinfectant alcohol at store entrances. To strengthen store sales capabilities, it promoted counseling sales, a strength since its founding, expanded stores offering dispensing services, and, following the September 2020 revision of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act, introduced “kakari,” an app that digitally connects pharmacies with patients and promotes and supports the development of family pharmacies. It also promoted downloads of the official Sugi Pharmacy app and Sugi Sapo app, which digitally connect customers and stores, and advanced Group DX (digital transformation) to improve customer satisfaction and operational productivity.」

「In this external environment, our Group worked to reduce costs by reviewing and streamlining store and head-office operations and developing and introducing various systems, with the aim of achieving more efficient store operations.」

「Under these external conditions, the Group continued to pursue initiatives in line with the “total healthcare strategy,” which consistently supports customers from health maintenance and prevention through nursing care and end-of-life care, in order to expand business areas serving a super-aged society. It also worked to increase its regional market share through active store openings and to capture external demand.」

「We also actively advanced new initiatives based on the Total Healthcare Strategy, which provides consistent support from customers’ health maintenance and disease prevention through nursing care and end-of-life care, with the aim of expanding our business domains to address a super-aging society.」

「Against this backdrop, our Group sought to realize a Total Healthcare Strategy that provides consistent support from customers’ health maintenance and disease prevention through nursing care and end-of-life care. We actively pursued initiatives including strengthening customer service centered on our strength in counseling, diversifying electronic-money payment services to improve customer convenience, expanding clinic-attached stores to support further growth in the pharmacy business, and improving pharmacy productivity through the use of pharmacy-work support equipment and medical administrative personnel. In addition, we worked to increase earnings by strengthening marketing and expanding product assortments for inbound visitors.」

「Against this backdrop, our Group actively pursued initiatives including strengthening a customer-service structure centered on counseling that leverages our expertise, expanding QR-code and barcode payments to improve customer convenience, capturing growing inbound demand, expanding home healthcare initiatives and clinic-attached stores to support further growth in the pharmacy business, and reducing costs by reviewing procurement methods for consumable supplies and employees’ working practices.」

「The phase of building the management foundation through reviews of existing systems and various policies has been completed. From fiscal 2018, as a shift toward a more proactive management approach, we will pursue our medium-term targets by promoting a Total Healthcare Strategy centered on the pharmacy business, shifting sales-promotion methods to digital channels, and improving productivity through work-style reform and other initiatives.」

「Against this backdrop, our Group actively pursued initiatives including expanding counseling-based sales tailored to each customer’s needs, developing high-quality and differentiated private-label products suited to customer preferences, improving pharmacy productivity through measures such as promoting the introduction of pharmacy-work support equipment, promoting community-based initiatives in collaboration with government agencies, organizations and local businesses, including Wellness Fairs, introducing electronic-money payment services and an electronic medication notebook to improve customer convenience, and obtaining special certification from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare as an exemplary company supporting child-rearing (Platinum Kurumin certification) through improvements to employees’ working conditions.」

「Against this backdrop, our Group pursued initiatives including strengthening counseling-based sales to help address each customer’s individual concerns, developing high-quality and differentiated private-label products, improving productivity in the pharmacy business through the introduction of pharmacy-work support equipment, promoting community-based initiatives in collaboration with government agencies, organizations and local businesses, including Wellness Fairs, and reducing costs by reviewing procurement methods for indirect materials and reforming work practices.」

「Against this backdrop, from a long-term perspective our Group will develop the next-generation business model by actively collaborating with other companies, develop the human resources that will support future business expansion, and build systems infrastructure that reaches customers effectively and enhances productivity. We will also thoroughly strengthen our sales organization so that we can respond rapidly and accurately to changes in the market and competitive environment.」

「In this environment, our Group actively pursued initiatives including building a sales organization capable of responding rapidly and accurately to changes in customer needs and the competitive environment, expanding products and services and developing sales floors centered on wellness, promoting community-focused initiatives in cooperation with government authorities, organizations and local businesses, carrying out scrap-and-build projects and renovations to strengthen regional dominance, and developing the talent that is central to our ability to deliver differentiated competitive advantages.」

「In this environment, our Group actively pursued initiatives including building a sales organization capable of responding rapidly and accurately to changes in customer needs and the competitive environment, expanding products and services centered on pharmacy and wellness, promoting community-focused initiatives in cooperation with government authorities, organizations and local businesses, carrying out scrap-and-build projects and renovations to strengthen our regional dominance, strengthening talent development as a core source of our differentiated competitive advantage, and reducing operating costs.」

「Against this backdrop, our Group has continued to pursue a qualitative transformation of its business structure and systems in order to adapt rapidly and accurately to the rapidly and substantially changing market and competitive environments.」

「Against this backdrop, our Group has vigorously pursued initiatives from a forward-looking perspective to achieve a qualitative transformation of its business structure, systems and operating model and adapt rapidly and accurately to the rapidly and substantially changing market and competitive environments. These initiatives have included strengthening our capabilities as a neighborhood pharmacy serving the super-aged society, developing product assortments, services and sales floors tailored to local characteristics and customer needs, clarifying our business formats and carrying out scrap-and-build programs and store renovations to strengthen competitiveness, developing store managers who can operate stores flexibly and nimbly in response to market and competitive conditions, and rebuilding our business operations and information and logistics system infrastructure to support further expansion.」

「Against this backdrop, our Group has continued to pursue a qualitative transformation of its business structure, systems and operating model in order to adapt to rapidly and substantially changing market and competitive conditions.」

「To adapt to this rapidly changing market environment and overcome intensifying competition, we have actively pursued initiatives from a forward-looking perspective, including clarifying and differentiating our business formats, rebuilding business infrastructure such as information systems and logistics, and developing personnel with strong practical store-management capabilities, with the aim of achieving a qualitative transformation of our business structure, systems and operating model.」