Store expansion into new and priority regions and support for branch expansion by existing stores

「To expand new franchise membership, inquiries to the franchise recruitment website revamped last December have remained strong at 1.5 times the level before the revamp, and we established a new system to move toward a multichannel approach to developing new outlets.」

「To expand new franchise membership, we completely revamped our franchise recruitment website for the first time in 4 years. By tailoring our messaging to specific targets, including different sectors and business formats in the real estate industry, companies entering from other industries and prospective independent business owners, we received a response above expectations from the first month and will use this to promote further franchise membership.」

「To expand new franchise membership, we completely revamped our franchise recruitment website for the first time in 4 years. By tailoring our messaging to specific targets, including different sectors and business formats in the real estate industry, companies entering from other industries and prospective independent business owners, we received a response above expectations from the first month and will use this to promote further franchise membership.」

「To continue promoting the acquisition of new franchisees, the company strengthened customer acquisition through owned media and telephone sales. As a result, 43 new franchises were added during the fiscal year.」

「Amid this business environment, the company is implementing various measures, including 1. expanding new franchise participation, 2. strengthening franchisee support (① strengthening human resources, ② strengthening sales, ③ expanding business scale, and ④ strengthening the FC community), and 3. promoting sustainability initiatives.」

「Regarding the number of franchise stores, the company strengthened web customer acquisition, including by improving the SEO of its franchise recruitment website, as a measure to increase new contracts. The number of new franchises during the fiscal year was 57.」

「First, as a measure to promote an increase in new franchise participation, the company revamped its marketing automation (MA) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems for new franchise sales from the third quarter. It will strengthen the acquisition of new franchise stores by linking data from web inquiries, inside sales, and outside sales more efficiently.」

「Amid this business environment, the company is sequentially implementing various measures, including 1. expanding new franchise participation, 2. strengthening franchisee support (① strengthening human resources, ② strengthening sales, ③ expanding business scale, and ④ strengthening the franchise community), and 3. promoting sustainability initiatives.」

「In addition, reflecting the business conditions in the construction industry and other sectors described above, 26 franchise stores withdrew during the cumulative first-quarter period, including stores leaving because of poor performance. This represents approximately one-third of the expected number of withdrawals for the full year, so the company will continue to monitor the business conditions of existing franchisees while focusing on acquiring new franchise stores.」

「First, as a measure to increase new franchise participation, the company relaunched its franchise recruitment website and began listing advertising and telemarketing in November 2022. Together with its existing door-to-door sales activities, it is building a pool of prospective franchise stores likely to conclude contracts in the future.」

「Amid this business environment, the company continues to pursue measures that contribute to increasing the number of franchisees and the sales of each franchisee in order to strengthen its existing franchise business platform and improve its competitiveness. First, as a measure to promote an increase in new franchise participation, the company began generating leads through listing advertising and telemarketing in the third quarter. It aims to increase the number of contracts by effectively following up on the leads acquired.」

「In addition, as a measure to expand the franchise network, the company plans to strengthen franchise acquisition by relaunching its website for recruiting new franchisees in June and implementing various advertising initiatives.」

「The number of franchise stores increased by 76 during the fiscal year, up 10 from the previous fiscal year, as a result of measures to further enhance online and other franchise seminars aimed at acquiring new franchisees, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, 74 stores withdrew, an increase of 19 from the previous fiscal year, due to poor performance and other reasons during the pandemic. The network therefore recorded a net increase of 2 stores, reaching 991 stores at the end of the fiscal year.」

「Steady implementation of measures to increase the number of franchise stores and franchisee sales As a result of measures to further enhance franchise seminars, including online seminars, aimed at acquiring new franchisees, 66 new franchises were added during the fiscal year.」

「During the second quarter, the company entered into a business alliance with Yamada Real Estate Co., Ltd. of the Yamada Denki Group, making it possible for Century 21 franchisees to open stores in the House Appliance & Living館 stores operated by the Yamada Denki Group. The company will also consider partnerships involving Yamada Denki's points program and financial services, and will further promote business expansion by existing franchisees and the acquisition of new franchise companies.」

「We believe that implementing these measures will improve franchisee competitiveness, promote new franchise participation, and curb withdrawals by existing stores, thereby contributing to further expansion of the Century 21 franchise system and the company's sustainable growth.」

「The effectiveness of activities by the FC Consulting Department, established to improve performance and curb the withdrawal rate, also helped keep the number of withdrawing stores low, at approximately 50% of the previous year's level.」

「② Further expansion of the franchise network ⅰ) Investment of management resources to expand into priority and new regions ⅱ) Improving franchisee satisfaction by strengthening solution capabilities to reduce withdrawals by existing stores」

「In addition, the company opened a Hiroshima office and implemented franchise recruitment measures, including increasing personnel for store development, with the aim of expanding franchisees in the Chugoku and Shikoku area.」

「① Expansion of the franchise network (ⅰ) Developing existing real estate companies, supporting new business openings, and promoting franchise participation by companies from other industries (ⅱ) Store expansion into new and priority regions (expansion of operating bases)」

「① Further expansion of the franchise network ⅰ) Store expansion into new and priority regions ⅱ) Network expansion through support for branch expansion by existing stores and other measures」