Investments in Human Resources to Stimulate New Growth

Recognizing that human resources devoted to aiding customers are the greatest driver behind the creation of corporate value, MARUI GROUP respects diverse employee values and is proactively conducting investments in the recruitment and development of human resources to cultivate an environment in which all employees can feel energized and continue growing.

MARUI GROUP Human Resource Development Policy

Basic Principles

MARUI GROUP's corporate philosophy calls on us to "continue evolving to better aid our customers"and "equate the development of our people with the development of our company," and MARUI GROUP has defined its mission as being to "contribute to co-creating an inclusive society that offers happiness to all."

MARUI GROUP views employees as a precious asset borrowed from society. Based on this belief, the Company is committed to stimulating the growth of employees in order to fulfill its role as a venue for the contributions of all employees and as a member of the communities it serves and of the greater society.

Moreover, MARUI GROUP has defined the two characteristics it desires in employees. One of these characteristics is the capacity for empathy needed to adopt the viewpoints of various stakeholders in order to understand their thinking and their pain. This capacity for empathy gives rise to a propensity for innovation, the second of these characteristics, that drives the resolution of social issues through business activities.

To accomplish these goals, MARUI GROUP seeks to facilitate diverse work styles as well as the career development efforts of employees while encouraging mutual understanding between all employees, regardless of their age, nationality, physical characteristics, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Through this process, we aim to generate innovation while supporting the contributions and growth of diverse employees. Furthermore, we are working to help all employees grow into talented human resources who gain insight and broaden their horizons through self-driven learning and who assess situations from an altruistic perspective. This approach will be imperative in ensuring that MARUI GROUP can continue to contribute to society.

MARUI GROUP will continue to translate individual strengths into organizational capabilities as it exercises its corporate philosophy going forward.

Desired Characteristics in Employees

MARUI GROUP has defined the following characteristics as the characteristics desired in employees.

MARUI GROUP desires employees that possess a propensity for innovation based on a capacity for empathy.

Based on its corporate philosophy of "continue evolving to better aid our customers" and "equate the development of our people with the development of our company," MARUI GROUP aims to help create an inclusive society offering happiness to all. Accomplishing this goal will require all employees to possess the capacity for empathy needed to adopt the viewpoints of various stakeholders in order to understand their thinking and their pain.

Fostered through experiencing work on sales floors and offering dedicated service to customers, this capacity for empathy gives rise to the propensity for innovation that drives the resolution of the issues faced by customers and society through business activities.

Capacity for Empathy
Ability to comprehend the position of others and build shared
understanding to be more sympathetic to them
– Love of people and bringing joy to them

– Drive to understand the thoughts and pain of others

– Desire to work for the benefit of others

Propensity for Innovation
Drive to autonomous thought and action
– Ambition to continue growing by setting goals and learning

– Aspiration of tackling unprecedented challenges
Ability to find joy in changes and differences
– Positivity required to detect changes in society and the environment and to change oneself in response

– Receptiveness toward diverse perspectives and opinions

Human Resource Development Frameworks

MARUI GROUP proactively conducts human resource investments based on the belief that human resources are intangible assets that are a wellspring of future corporate value.

All MARUI GROUP employees are hired through the Company, which is a pure holding company, and then appointed to Group companies while being given access to the same shared human resource systems and working under the same wage and workhour standards.

The growth of employees is stimulated through profession change, secondment, and evaluation systems as well as other frameworks based on voluntary participation.^* We are heightening the effectiveness of these frameworks with an emphasis on the development of energized and empowered employees that are accepting of one another regardless of their age, nationality, physical characteristics, gender identity, and sexual orientation along with organizations that support these employees.

1-1. Voluntary Participation^*

MARUI GROUP aspires to be a company that can continue to generate innovation. Accomplishing this objective will require that our business be based on autonomous organizations, which we believe will foster autonomous employees. For this reason, we encourage employees to tackle new challenges on a voluntary basis in order to cultivate a sense of autonomy. We offer opportunities that encourage wide-ranging voluntary participation^* and include forums for discussions on important management themes as well as various learning and new business creation opportunities and the intra-Group profession system.

* All MARUI GROUP employees are provided with access to opportunities in which they can participate on a voluntary basis through open application.

1-2. Intra-Group Profession Changes and Secondment

MARUI GROUP offers an intra-Group profession change system that allows for relocations between Group companies as a framework for fostering individual diversity and driving organizational reforms. We are confident that tying the discoveries of individuals to organizational reforms and business innovation will support the exercise of MARUI GROUP's corporate philosophy.

In addition, MARUI GROUP employees are seconded to investees and other start-up companies to endow them with the scope of vision needed to create new businesses from a forward-looking perspective and to provide them with various opportunities to exercise discretion in decision making. The resulting merging of different insights is anticipated to fuel open innovation.

1-3. Evaluations, Feedback, and Progress Monitoring

MARUI GROUP has developed human resource evaluation systems based on a medium-to-long-term perspective with the aim of linking the growth of individual employees to the ongoing growth of the Company. Under these systems, human resource evaluations comprise value evaluations and performance evaluations. The former assesses employees' abilities to take autonomous action and pursue individual growth based on MARUI GROUP's corporate philosophy and is determined by evaluation committees based on 360-degree evaluations from team members. The latter evaluates team performance over a given period. In addition, employees in all departments meet with their supervisors on a quarterly basis to monitor their progress and on a six-month basis to receive feedback. These meetings are meant to serve as opportunities for confirming individual challenges and the types of improvements that should be pursued. Through such initiatives, MARUI GROUP provides opportunities for discoveries and learning in order to drive individual growth.

1-4. Promotion Practices

MARUI GROUP actively promotes to leadership positions individuals who consistently exhibit the necessary qualities and skills and who contribute to improvements in corporate value. These promotions are performed in a fair and equal manner that is not influenced by factors such as age, gender identity, nationality, or career background.

1-5. Future Leader Development Program

MARUI GROUP has implemented a future leader development program based on open application. After completing the one-year program, participants are seconded to affiliates or positioned to strategic or corporate planning divisions to endow them with the scope of vision needed to create new businesses from a forward-looking perspective and to provide them with various opportunities to exercise discretion in decision making in order to further their growth as future leaders.

2. Management System

MARUI GROUP is enhancing its management of human resource development through appropriate reviews of internal initiatives by the Board of Directors and the Management Committee and through reflection of these reviews in work processes based on the MARUI GROUP Human Resource Development Policy. Moreover, coordination is pursued between relevant MARUI GROUP divisions, operating companies, and MARUI GROUP UNION to confirm the progress and effectiveness of initiatives related to human resource system and organizational reforms. Moreover, the MARUI GROUP Human Resource Development Policy will be reviewed annually, and timely and appropriate disclosure will be practiced with regard to internal awareness-building initiatives, targets, and related progress.

Established in March 2021

Hiroshi Aoi
President and Representative Director
Representative Executive Officer, CEO
MARUI GROUP CO., LTD.

*1 Capacity for Empathy: Ability to comprehend the position of others and build shared understanding to be more sympathetic to them

*2 Propensity for Innovation: Drive to autonomous thought and action. Ability to find joy in changes and differences

One of MARUI GROUP's missions is to increase the happiness of all people, including those of future generations. Our vision for 2050 and the long-term targets for our three types of businesses were established to guide us in fulfilling this mission. However, the accomplishment of this vision and targets will require us to enhance our corporate culture in order to foster human resources with a capacity for empathy, which is the ability to share one's beliefs and understand others, and a propensity for innovation, which is a drive for autonomous action.

MARUI GROUP's long-term targets provide a wide range of options for coexistence with future generations through co-creation with external entities, which will be conducted alongside human resource investment and the cultivation of a corporate culture that fosters a propensity for innovation founded on co-creation.

Long-Term Targets

–
–Annual human resource investments
–Voluntary participation by employees (aggregate)
–Future MARUI GROUP leaders cultivated (aggregate)
–Individuals capable of creating future value cultivated (aggregate)
–Financial and sustainability education

Progress toward Long-Term Targets PDF

Monitoring of Investments for Recruiting and Developing Human Resources

Recognizing that human resources are the greatest driver behind the creation of corporate value, MARUI GROUP conducts investments in the recruitment and development of human resources.

Profession Change Framework

MARUI GROUP has been implementing its profession change system since April 2013 with the aim of fostering the diversity of individual talents. Through this shared Groupwide system, we conduct personnel relocations that place employees in different divisions or Group companies. It is common for people, after having worked in a single profession for a number of years, to go about their jobs without putting much thought into their practices. Profession changes provide an opportunity for employees to break away from their sense of normalcy and escape preconceptions to better practice a customer-first mentality and discover new ways of responding to customer needs.

For example, when a member of our sales staff positioned in a sales office undergoes a profession change placing them in the FinTech business at EPOS Card, they are able to provide service in their new capacity while calling upon the retailing perspective they cultivated previously. Such cross-organizational utilization of talent contributes to improved productivity for the Group. The number of people changing professions is rising at sales offices, where staff members are increasingly relocating to sales floors for different products. A new sales floor results in interaction with new customers, which in turn leads to new discoveries.

Total Number of Employees Changing Positions between Group Companies

	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Employees changing positions	460	352	287	268	265
Aggregate total	2,541	2,626	2,799	2,973	3,130

Totals for number of employees changing positions in April and October of each year

Opportunities to Think About Career Development

As of March 2022, a total of more than 2,900 employees (or approximately 77% of all Group employees) had undergone relocations to different Group companies. To promote profession changes and provide an opportunity for employees to think about their careers, the Company holds Job Forum events once every six months. In these forums, employees from different Group companies that have experienced various positions explain their motivation toward their job and other work experiences. As one facet of these Job Forum events, individual consultation events are held for each Group company. Furthermore, we have made the Job NET website available to all employees and otherwise support them in undertaking changes to new positions in order to stimulate their personal growth.

Job Forums
Events at which employees from different Group companies explain their motivation toward their job and other work experiences
Individual Consultation Events
Individual consultation events at which employees from each Group company can be asked questions about their job and otherwise consulted
Job NET
Website featuring business and job descriptions from various divisions at Group companies

Post-Profession Change Satisfaction Survey

In November 2016, the Personnel Division conducted a survey of 2,000 employees that had undergone profession changes to gather information on their experiences.

Corporate Culture of Encouraging Voluntary Participation

MARUI GROUP's corporate philosophy calls for us to "continue evolving to better aid our customers" and "equate the development of our people with the development of our company." Based on this philosophy, we have established Groupwide committees and project teams with members recruited through open application. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, 4,359 employees (around 91% of the total number of Group employees) expressed a desire to participate in such forums, where they deepen their understanding of the corporate philosophy through dialogue while examining themes that are important to the Group’s management.

Activities of the Medium-Term Management Visionary Committee

The Medium-Term Management Visionary Committee is a forum for discussing various topics that will be important to the future of Group management. In the past, meetings were primarily focused on explanations of management policies and other such matters. However, topics are now selected that require a medium-term perspective and for which initiatives will be advanced with a timeline of three-to-five years. While this committee was previously only open to members of Group management, from January 2016 any interested employee is able to apply for participation, and meetings have been held almost every month since. Active discussion, via online and physical venues, is conducted among members that are selected from the approximately 1,000 applications received for each meeting. Furthermore, we regularly invite outside lecturers to conduct special lectures.

: Lively question-and-answer sessions held after each lecture

2021 Committee Meeting Discussion Topics

Feb.Consistently Surpassing the Ordinary—Special lecture
Mar.Information-sharing forum on FY2021 MARUI GROUP reform initiative—Special event
Apr.Customer-Oriented Mindset Underpinning Digital Transformation—Special lecture
Investor relations information-sharing and study session—Special event

2020 Committee Meeting Discussion Topics

Feb.Businesses That Contribute to Sustainable Societies—Special lecture
Mar.Wellness Project Team activity report—In-house presentation
Jun.Life After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Future Planning for Happier Lives—Special lecture/discussion (Internet broadcast)
Jul.Panel discussion by employees that have undergone intra—Group profession changes and secondment to other companies—Special event
Aug.Future Shaped by Direct-to-Consumer Brands—Special lecture
Sep.Co-Creation with the Generations That Will Shape the Future—Special lecture
Oct.Creation of a Society That Embraces Individuality—Special lecture
Future Accelerator Gateway information-sharing forum—Special lecture and workshop
Dec.Discussion panel featuring intra-Group profession change system users and seconded employees—Special event

2019 Committee Meeting Discussion Topics

Feb.Happiness × AI—Special lecture
Seven Paradigm Shifts as the World Undergoes Digital Convergence—Special lecture
Mar.Insurance and Financial Inclusion—Special lecture
Jun.Background for Direct-to-Consumer Brands, Physical Stores in a Digital Society, and Retail as a Service—Special lecture
Jul.Japan's First Employee-Driven Effort to Source 100% of Electricity from Renewable Power with Visibility of Producers: Familiarity with the SDGs through the Outlet via the World's First Venture Combining Power and Blockchain—Special lecture
Oct.Equality of Opportunities Realized through Access to Financial Services—Special lecture
Nov.Activity report by ultralong-term management research committee (small meeting) and information sharing through in-house presentations
Dec.Panel discussion by profession change system users and previously seconded employees—Special event

2018 Committee Meeting Discussion Topics

Jan.Corporate Strategies for Realizing a Sustainable Society—Special lecture
Feb.Survey report of long-term business trends—In-house presentation
Hello! Miraijin—A Look at the Sensibilities of the Future
MaySingularity and Exponential Thinking: Characteristics of Companies
and People That Can Survive in Volatile Times—Special lecture
Jun.Medium-term management plan for Retailing segment
Medium-term management plan for FinTech segment
Small meeting regarding financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018
Jul.Long-Term Operating Environment and Impact on MARUI GROUP—Special lecture
Aug.Report on long-term business trend survey and information sharing through in-house presentations
Sep.Joy Brought to Customers through Cumulative Investment—Special lecture
Oct.Activity report by ultralong-term management research committee and information sharing through in-house presentations
Nov.Advent of After Digital World: Essence of Digitization—Special lecture
Dec.Sustainability × Business: Companies Only Engaged in Social Businesses—Special lecture

2017 Committee Meeting Discussion Topics

Jan.Distribution industry as seen through trends in China, the United States, and Japan, special lecture
Apr.Social environment as it pertains to MARUI GROUP and future outlook
MayFuture created by the fashion business, special lecture
Strategies for competing viewed as stories—requirements for effective strategies, special lecture
Jun.Medium-term management plan of Retailing business
Medium-term management plan of FinTech business
Jul.A New Form of Financial Security and Future Potential—Special lecture
Report on findings of New York observation tour—Presentation for sharing information within the Company
Aug.Long-term operating environment changes and new growth initiatives
Small meeting regarding financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017
Sep.MARUI GROUP's ESG: Forward-Looking Initiatives for Transforming Our Main Business into a Socially Contributing Undertaking—Special lecture
Oct.The Digital Industrial Revolution: Era of Redefining Industries—Special lecture
Nov.Innovation Creation Approach Apparent in Global Management Practices—Special lecture

2016 Committee Meeting Discussion Topics

Jan.Corporate value as viewed by the market, special lecture Report on Activities of Credit Card Evolution Project Team
Feb.Accommodation of all customers—LGBT community, special lecture
Mar.Corporate value as viewed by the market 2, special lecture
Apr.Analysis of MARUI GROUP's operating environment and future projections
Jun.Medium-term management plan for Retailing segment
Medium-term management plan for FinTech segment
Report on anime business activities
Jul.Hakata Marui co-creation initiatives
Report on interactions with investors (investor relations activity report)
Sep.Report on Rakuchin Kirei series shoes try-on store initiatives
Information on pants-related initiatives of new ru brand
Oct.Vision for the world realized through FinTech and MARUI GROUP's business therein, special lecture
Dec.Retail industry and MARUI GROUP as viewed by a business columnist, special lecture

Human Resources Development Committee

On the Human Resources Development Committee, the varied members, which include senior managing executive officers and outside lecturers, put their heads together to closely examine concepts pertaining to employee growth on both an individual and team level. In this manner, the committee implements a program in which leaders are cultivated through group discussion. The committee was established in 2010 with the aim of providing a venue for facilitating the growth of employees in order to contribute to the realization of the Group's corporate philosophy. Participants utilize the communication and problem-solving skills acquired on the committee to further team growth at their respective divisions.(Concluded in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021)

: Members with diverse backgrounds are receptive toward others' opinions as they seek to create new ideas

Official Groupwide Initiatives

Official Groupwide initiatives are opportunities for employees to take part in examinations of issues in specific areas related to MARUI GROUP's business strategies. Open to any employee, regardless of position, age, or rank, participants are chosen based on essays. Once chosen, members engage in regular discussions with members of management on topics looking at future social changes and help propose and implement solutions to the issues faced by the Company in these areas.

In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, discussions were held based on the following five topics, two of which will continue to be areas of focus in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, during which we will look at circular economies, work styles in an age in which people consistently live to be 100, fostering of entrepreneurs in-house, and new EPOS card services.

FY2021 Themes

Themes	Examined Measures
Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions	Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions associated with food
Elimination of waste (ongoing)	Initiatives for eliminating (reducing and recycling) waste together with customers, business partners, and employees
Dual income household 2.0	Next phase toward 100% childcare leave acquisition Proposal of work styles that defy gender roles
Work styles for era when people consistently live to be 100 (ongoing)	Creation of frameworks for ongoing employment in era when people consistently live to be 100
Mind-set for post-digital era	Establishment and tracking of new non-sales indicators for fostering long-term relationships with customers (improvement of lifetime value)

Official Group Project Teams

Promoting diversity has been defined as one of the strategies of the medium-term management plan launched in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015, and we are therefore pursuing diversity with regard to individual talents, gender, and age. One facet of our diversity initiatives is our official project teams, which are open to voluntary participation by employees from throughout the Group.

For Groupwide project teams, members are selected based on essays, rather than division, age, or position. Members examine important Group management topics through discussion. MARUI GROUP has defined three themes that are related to the Company or society as a whole from a medium-to-long-term perspective. After participating, members utilize the knowledge and ideas they gained to formulate and implement action plans for incorporating this insight into the business, procedures, or other aspects of their workplace. Project members are changed on an annual basis, producing a new set of autonomous employees with increased knowledge and awareness each year.

In the latter half of 2018, the name of the Healthcare Management Project Team was changed to the Wellness & Healthcare Management Project Team based on the concept of proactive healthcare management aimed at promoting wellness. In addition, the Marui Future Project Team and the Diversity Project Team were integrated to form the Diversity & Inclusion Project Team. The aim of this move was to promote receptiveness toward the diversity of all stakeholders, as opposed to just employees.

Venue for Experiencing Differences and Reforming Employee Awareness

MARUI GROUP has been holding Inclusion Fes events for employees and their families since 2017. These enjoyable, hands-on events draw nearly 1,700 participants each year. Among the attractions are booths and displays based on the theme of each Groupwide project team aimed at spreading understanding of their activities. In 2018, we sought to extend this understanding to stakeholders by arranging events open to participation by everyone, which were attended by investors and business partners.

The Inclusion Fes events held at Shinjuku Marui, Yurakucho Marui, and Marui City Yokohama saw participation by substantial numbers of customers and thereby made significant contributions to promoting understanding of inclusion.

Experience-oriented events held at stores and online in fourth iteration in 2021
Open-air, rooftop yoga workshop held in cooperation with yoga wear provider lululemon

Program that measures hemoglobin, weight, BMI, body fat, and other metrics and provides feedback in seconds
Workshop held through collaboration with Dream Factory Inc. offering instruction on relaxation and muscle training techniques using DOCTORAIR machines

Relevant Links

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