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Value Creation of NITORI Group

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NITORI Group’s Human Capital
Working together to realize the mission andsupporting growth and evolution
Since its inception, NITORI Group has repeatedly rejected the status quo and has continued
to take on unprecedented challenges. The driving force behind this is our employees. Basedon the belief that ‘individual growth leads to corporate growth’, we have focused on thedevelopment of a wealth of elites and specialist personnel. We encourage and support eachindividual to proactively aim for growth towards what they want to become.

Related Page: P51-52 Promote human resource development and organizational development

Education that leads to the “ideal self” of employees

Transfer-based
education

In-house training
programs

Self-development

Develop diversified humanresources by transferring andexperiencing various departments.

Learning the necessary
knowledge and experience at
the NITORI Group to link thecompany’s mission with its
own mission.

Providing assistance, supportand educational materials to
help acquire qualifications
and knowledge to get closer
to the “ideal self”.

Developing Global Human Resources
Based on the mission of “Enriching homes of people all overthe world,” the chain store theory and by effectively utilizing
the capabilities of the NITORI Group, we are developing
global human resources who can solve problems and build
systems to provide products and services that suit customers
in each country and region.
To develop human resources who have a broad perspective
and can utilize diversity and work together with employees
around the world, we provide a variety of training programs
and study opportunities, including global training and diversity
management training, first in Japan. We also actively promote
global transfer-based education in the hope that ouremployees will grow as they expand the overseas business.
We also provide opportunities for employees to take on theirown challenges, such as an open recruitment system foroverseas assignments and the opportunity to be dispatched tooverseas stores as a ‘task force’. Overseas employees aregiven training programs that help them understand NITORIGroup, such as seminars in Japan to see Nitori stores anddistribution centers, and learning about the chain store theory.

Development of IT human Resources
The concept and system of human resources development, which started with domestic employees, has now been expanded tocover all employees across the globe . We are also working to create an organization that values and nurtures people who continue totake on challenges, so that each and every employee of the NITORI Group, can make steady progress towards realizing their mission,and grow both as a company and as an individual.

Job shadowing training programs, in which participants
accompany employees in different departments to gain workexperience.

13Interior coordination training programs, for selected members,
where participants learn from professional coordinators.

In April 2022, the NITORI Group established Nitori Digital
Base as a “base” for bringing together talented IT
personnels from Japan and overseas. We are focusing on
recruitment and training to increase the number of internal
IT personnel to 1,000 by 2032. In addition to specializedskills, on-site knowledge and the ability to solve problems
from a front-line perspective are essential for NITORIGroup’s IT personnel. For this reason, all of our IT
personnel will experience working at NITORI stores andlogistics departments. We are also promoting theconversion of employees from non-IT fields into IT
personnel through a step-by-step training program thatcovers everything from IT basics to the latest technologies.
They will support the growth of the NITORI Group by fully
utilizing the power of IT technology, from improving
customer convenience in shopping and services, tobuilding systems to support accelerated oversea
expansion, to reforming operational efficiency.

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Top Message

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Value Creation of NITORI Group

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Discussion

Sharing the best practices and developing aframework for the education system to develop
overseas human resources, which is the key torealizing NITORI Group’s mission.

Specialists are nurtured byan education systemdesigned backwards from themission.
Director Hiromi Abiko ITORI Group’s Approach and System for Human Resource
NDevelopment
Director Hiromi Abiko

Hiromi Abiko

H.I

15K.K

Merchandising Division, Buyer ofKitchen & Dining TeamNITORI RETAIL (MALAYSIA) SDN.
BHD.

Joined the company in 2005. After working in
7 stores, has worked in 2 stores as a store
manager since 2014.In 2017, seconded toMainland China. After working as a store
manager and an area manager, engaged in
the education and training of local employees.
worked in the Merchandising Division since2021.After experiencing delivery/re-orderbuyer, has been in the current position since2022.

Joined the company in 2004. Worked in 4
stores before becoming a store manager
in 2012. worked in the Organizational
Development Office since 2013, in chargeof diversity promotion and internal public
relations. After working as a delivery/re-orderbuyer and a buyer, was seconded to Malaysia
in January 2023, to work in the Merchandising
Division tasks.

DirectorGeneral Manager of HR Education
Division
Director responsible for Sustainability
Management Promotion
Joined the company in 1984. After working in
the Corporate Business Department and theBusiness Systems Office, became the firstfemale store manager in 1999, and wasappointed to the Merchandise Department in2002. In 2015, was appointed manager of theMerchandising Division, in charge of productdevelopment and sales floor proposals toenrich people’s lives through coordination.
Current position since 2021.

NITORI Group has always had its mission and vision at itscore. In human resource development, we envision thefuture organization and human resources necessary torealize our mission and vision, and work backward fromthere to create the education system. For example, being
able to deliver a wider range of “unexpected” products andservices to people in more countries and regions, meansthat the scope of our business has expanded and evolved
beyond the current level. For this reason, we have madegreat efforts to educate our employees, including throughobservation tours to the U.S. (see p. 51: Promoting Human
Resource and Organizational Development). We believe thatthrough education consisting of a step-by-step curriculum
and work experience in a wide range of fields, we cannurture a wealth of elites who possess what we call the “4Cs”(Change, Challenge, Competition, Communication). A

specialist with the 4Cs is a person who responds to change,
aims for personal growth in a competitive environment while
repeatedly making improvements and reforms, and pursues
overall optimization through close cooperation with insideand outside the company. They are required to have a highlevel of expertise as well as an understanding of all aspectsof supply chain operations.
Through your own experiences, what is your impression ofNITORI Group’s approach and structure for human resource
development? When expanding overseas, communications
seems to be particularly important among the 4Cs. What do
you think?

K.KI joined NITORI Group because I sympathized with its
mission and the consistency with which it focuses on training
human resources to realize the mission. When I first started
working at a store, I had a vague idea that I wanted to build
my career in the store operations and eventually become astore manager or an area manager. Unexpectedly, I wastransferred to the Organizational Development Office, whereI was involved in the production of the company newsletter,
which gave me many opportunities to interact with people inthe Merchandising Division, and I became fascinated withmanufacturing and began to pursue a career in theMerchandising Division. In 2016, I was assigned to the16Top Message

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Human Capital of NITORI Group
Discussion: Human Resource Development, the Key to Realizing NITORI Group’s Mission
Merchandising Division, which I had longed for, and gained
experience as a delivery/re-order buyer and a buyer. I wasseconded to Malaysia at the end of January this year, andthis was an unexpected posting as well. Currently, I am
involved in a wide range of operations, including preparationfor opening stores and human resource development,

making the most of my experience. Through transfer-based
education, I have become more and more clear about what I
want to do and my ideal self. I feel that the extensive
educational programs available to help me achieve this goal
have been very beneficial to my own career development.

H.II joined the NITORI Group because I sympathized with themission, and also saw potential in the business. I had beenworking in stores in Japan for a long time, but when thechance to work in Mainland China came up, I thought itwould be a challenge for my personal growth. When I started
working overseas, I encountered many problems that I had
rarely experienced in Japan, such as the difficulty inreceiving supplies of equipment, products, etc., which could

be immediately arranged, if in Japan. I returned to Japan
with the desire to solve these problems. I then worked in theMerchandising Division in delivery operations, where I
acquired the skills to understand and control the entire flowof products from the time they are produced, to the time theyare placed on store shelves.
Eventually, I would like to work overseas again and become
someone who can solve local problems.

K.K
I recognize that one of my roles in Malaysia is to sharewhat I have learned in Japan with the local employees.
Japan is a high context culture, but that may not be how it isin overseas, so I try to carefully explain and communicate indetail. However, it is not easy to do so. Whether it is thelanguage, communication method or structure problem, I try
to break down each issue and think about it before applying
it to the next. I feel that I have gradually acquired the skill ofcommunicating in a simple manner, without becoming
overloaded with information or becoming difficult tounderstand because I am so conscious of being careful. My
current mission is to support the growth of local buyers andwatch them become full-fledged professionals. I would like totake on challenges together with them so that their encounter
with the NITORI Group will give them a sense of excitement
about the future and help them move toward their own
personal mission.
We must further increase the speed of human resource
development in order to achieve our Vision 2032. Although
there are differences in language, culture, and other aspects,
I feel that it is important to carefully respond to each issue
one by one while sharing values.

Director Hiromi Abiko

Working experience overseas
helped me clarify how I want
to be in the future and myideal self.

I am aware of the same issues. In the past, NITORI Grouphas expanded into Taiwan, Mainland China and othercountries, creating new stores and training human resources.
I feel that there are aspects of what we have learned thatcan be shared and utilized more as best practices, and thateach of your experiences in opening stores in Malaysia willserve as a foundation for the future, and that we must createa system that will allow us to utilize these experiences in thenext country where we open new stores. This will also be agreat treasure for our company.

H.IIssues and Directions for Overseas Human Resource
Development
Director Hiromi AbikoNITORI Group will accelerate opening stores in the Asian
region in order to achieve its Vision 2032. Therefore, thedevelopment of overseas human resources is an urgenttask. We would like to increase the number of local staff who
can share values and work together with us to realize
NITORI Group’s mission by standardizing and permeating
the domestic education system on a global scale.

17On the other hand, each country and region has its own
unique lifestyle, culture, and way of thinking. We feel that weneed to be flexible in our approach, adopting methods thatare appropriate for each country and region, and devising
ways to communicate.
Could you please share your experiences and opinions
based on your overseas experiences?

I want to continue to takeon daily challenges together
with my co-workers workingoverseas.
K.K

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Human Capital of NITORI Group
Discussion: Human Resource Development, the Key to Realizing NITORI Group’s Mission

H.I
There are two things that I have found important throughmy experience in Mainland China. The first is to “listencarefully” and the second is to “use local language.” Bylistening carefully to the opinions of the local people, rather
than unilaterally imposing Japanese rules, I was able todeepen my sense of unity. Also, by using local language,
even a little bit at a time, I felt closer to the people I wasmeeting. I realize that these two things are the key to havingsmooth communications. My experiences in Mainland China
were a valuable experience in which I was able to growmyself together with the local employees.
Since joining the company, my mission has consistently
been to serve others as much as possible. I now have astronger desire to contribute not only to the achievement ofVison 2032, but also to the future.

Until now, information has mainly been provided fromJapan to overseas, but I believe that the flow of information
will become more multilayered, from overseas to Japan andfrom overseas to overseas, and that we should accelerate
our transformation to achieve further growth. We alreadyhave many excellent local human resources in our overseas
offices. I believe that sharing and utilizing the informationand knowledge they have with the entire Group will greatly
motivate local employees and will be the driving force toaccelerate the growth of the NITORI Group. I would like to
be one of the driving forces behind this.

Director Hiromi Abiko
Yes, I agree. In Japan, we have a system in place tocompile a detailed database of each individual’s personnel
data and list the most suitable personnel in the most suitable
positions. We recognize the need for a similar system foroverseas human resources and are already working on it.
However, I believe that it is necessary to establish a modelthat can be expanded overseas and become a true global
standard, rather than focusing on Japan and how to expandthat model overseas.
Therefore, the flow of information and human resourcesmust also be global and dynamic, and once that framework
is in place, we will be much closer to realizing our mission
and vision. One of Chairman words, with which I have great
sympathy is, “You are not here to sell furniture, but to createa system for a prosperous living.” The growth of each and19every employee is the core of the NITORI Group’s growth.
The strength of the NITORI Group lies in the fact that wehave many people who continue to grow while constantly
asking themselves what they can do to realize the mission,and in the fact that we have a system that supports andmakes the most of their growth. I would like to continue tofurther refine this system in the future.