Core Theme 1

Core Theme 1

Customer Diversity and Inclusion

Customer Diversity and Inclusion

CORE THEME

1 Customer Diversity and Inclusion
MARUI GROUP Core ThemeACTION

Future of Japan and MARUI GROUP’s Role Therein

MARUI GROUP’s Goal

We will seek to develop products, services, and stores thatbring joy to all customers, regardless of their age, gender,or physical characteristics.
Comfort

Safety andsecurity

The Marui Future Project Team is a committee tasked
with thinking about the future of Japan and MARUIGROUP’s role in this future. Employees participating inthis committee do so as representatives of their store,
site, or division. Taking the insights and ideas gained
through the committee back to their normal position,
employees formulate action plans that propose initiatives
for their division to use in contributing to store
development, product creation, or FinTech operations.
As members change each year, the committee gives birth
to new autonomous employees with increased insightand awareness on a yearly basis. The committee thus
helps cultivate a corporate culture that is conducive toinnovation for transforming our business into a sociallycontributing undertaking.

Excitement

Happiness of
all customers

Marui Future Project Team meeting

Ease of use

Internet

Among developed countries, Japan is seen as particularly plagued with such issues as a declining birthrate
and an aging population. Nevertheless, Japan has a population of approximately 127 million diverse
individuals. If we adopt a perspective of creating spaces in which all people can flourish, the issues faced by
Japan could be turned into opportunities. MARUI GROUP strives to develop a business that creates
innovation for the benefit of everyone, effectively transforming such opportunities into value. This is the goalof our customer diversity and inclusion initiatives.

16

Themes Discussed by
Marui Future Project Team 2016

Diversity and Inclusion
MARUI GROUP aims to be a leader
in developing products, services, and stores that bring joy
to all customers, regardless of their age, gender,or physical characteristics.

Diversity Week One week in November
2016 was designatedas Diversity Week at
MARUI GROUP’s head
office. During this week,
a display was exhibited
Display exhibited at head office entrance
at the office’s entrance
during Diversity Week
that sought to foster
understanding and support for the LGBT community with thetheme of “a society in which everyone can be themselves.”

Employee Comment

Mayu Ueda (left)
Chiharu Sato (right)
Marui Future Project Team
Members,
Kyoto MaruiMARUI CO., LTD.

Growth Driven by Our Evolution
We learned of the LGBT community by participating in the Marui Future Project Team. Upon
returning to our store, we wondered how we could communicate our desire to welcome these
individuals. The most important thing, we realized, was to make sure customers could have apleasant shopping experience. We took steps including stocking larger sizes for all models of shoes
on sales floors and setting up information desks in break rooms to help inform employees andtenants about the LGBT community. Our passion to bring joy to all customers spread throughout
the store, and is now a unifying force here at Kyoto Marui. We were particularly happy when anewer member of the store staff signed up to join the Marui Future Project Team. This experience
made us realize that, just as described in the corporate philosophy, if we continue to evolve, thisevolution will spread throughout the Company, driving its growth.

17Core Theme 1

Core Theme 1

Customer Diversity and Inclusion

Customer Diversity and Inclusion

Development of Stores
Bringing Joy to All Customers
MARUI GROUP strives to help all customers enjoy shopping at its stores, regardless of their age or gender, and thissentiment of course extends to senior citizens, people with disabilities, non-Japanese people, and members of the LGBT
community. We are thus working to develop comfortable stores from the perspectives of store environment and empathy.

Issues Faced by Shopping Centers
Developing comfortable stores requires tracking the issues
faced by shopping centers in terms of both store environ­ment and empathy (customer service) and addressingthese issues to ensure enjoyable shopping for all.

Store Environment
Difficulties Faced in Shopping Centers

Co-Creation with Customers
We are implementing universal design concepts at Maruiand Modi stores throughout Japan. For example, whendeveloping Hakata Marui, we incorporated the input ofvarious sources, such as Kyushu University and Lifestyle
Design Lab. These organizations helped us identify
issues faced by people with disabilities at shopping
centers through workshop-style investigations, and we
also received feedback from various individuals for input
in store development.

Individuals experiencing difficulty using
restrooms and other facilities

Improvement of Customer Service
Employees undergo Service Care-Fitter training to fostera spirit of hospitality and to learn how to accommodate
various customers. This training is conducted in-houseby nine Group employees that have acquired instructor
qualifications. In addition, external lecturers are invited to
implement rank 2 and 3 training for the Universal Manner
Placement Examination program and to perform LGBT
manner training. In addition, employees receive training
on catering to the needs of inbound travelers performed
by non-Japanese lecturers. With the skills gained, we aim
to improve customer service in order to foster anenvironment in which all customers can enjoy shopping.

Participation in LGBT Pride Eventsand Support for Para-Sports
Beginning with Marui and Modi stores located in Shinjuku
and Shibuya, participation in LGBT pride events, such as
RAINBOW PRIDE and RAINBOW FESTA, spread to storesin the Kansai, Hakata, and other areas, with nine storesnationwide participating by hanging rainbow flags on theoutside of buildings and otherwise showing support.
In addition, Shibuya Marui and Modi held an event incollaboration with Be The HERO, a video created topromote para-sports in Tokyo. We stirred up excitementin Shibuya through means such as showing the video on
a big-screen display.

In training for assisting customers using wheelchairs, employees
learn how to operate wheelchairs through actual use.

Shibuya Modi during TOKYO RAINBOW PRIDE 2016
event period

Employees wear special goggles to show how objects appear tosomeone with cataracts in senior citizen simulation training.

Booth set up outside of Hakata Marui during KYUSHU RAINBOWPRIDE 2016 event period

34%	Based on Survey of Measures for Accommodating
People with Disabilities (2007) and Surveyof Senior Citizens and Nursery School and
Preschool Users (2007) from the Cabinet Office

The heights and functions of chairs oneach floor were changed to offer
comfort to various customers.

Signs displaying distance to restrooms
were installed to offer peace of mind tosenior citizens and customers using
wheelchairs.

Customer Service
Reason Support Cannot Be

Employee Comment

Provided to People with Disabilities
Individuals citing lack of understandingof necessary techniques

57%

Charging spaces equipped with outlets
were established to provide peace ofmind to customers shopping using
electric wheelchairs.

Audio guidance is offered on the firstand second floors in part to guidecustomers with vision impairments.

	Based on Opinion Survey of People with
Disabilities (2012) from the Cabinet Office

Satoko Suzuki
Space Produce Department
AIM CREATE CO., LTD.
Customers using wheelchairs wereinvited to participate in planning meetings.

18

Mirairo inspected facilities to verify
ease of use.

An Enjoyable, Barrier-Free Environment for Everyone
People tend to think of universal design as providing standardized items that can be used byanyone. However, the original purpose of universal design is to be considerate of and address
people’s individual needs, regardless of whether or not they have a disability. At Hakata Marui, forexample, we placed chairs with armrests to make it easier for customers with weak legs to stand up
and also established rest spaces where customers can rest while leaning rather than sitting. This
store environment is considerate toward customers with disabilities, senior citizens, and a wide
range of other customers. I also see the concept of “inclusion” as having consideration for every
individual. While we may not be able to satisfy the desires of all customers, our first step should be
to build a store environment that customers choose. It is my wish to develop a barrier-free store
environment that can be easily enjoyed by everyone.

19

Core Theme 1

Core Theme 1

Customer Diversity and Inclusion

Customer Diversity and Inclusion

Creation of Products that
Bring Joy to All Customers
MARUI GROUP views product creation as the process of developing products that match the physical characteristics ofcustomers. We are thus establishing development and sales frameworks for supplying products that benefit all
customers, excluding no one regardless of their physical characteristics. We thereby seek to include and provide joy to
all customers and to forge a business model that creates new demand.

Customer Participation in Product Development
At the time when development of the Rakuchin Kirei seriesof shoes was first started, a survey of EPOS cardholders
indicated that around 90% of them had felt discomfort
with their shoes. This survey made it clear that customers
were unable to find pumps satisfying all of their needs
with regard to fashion, comfort, and affordability. We thus
vowed to create just such shoes. We began by measuring
customers’ feet and analyzing the results to make original
shoe trees. We then held product development meetings
together with customers that had expressed dissatisfaction
with the comfort of their shoes.

Needs Related to Shoe Sizes
The foot sizes of adult women in Japan are said to range
from 20.5 cm to 26.0 cm. However, the standard rangeof shoe sizes offered by the Japanese apparel industry isfrom 22.5 cm to 24.5 cm, which covers only 72% of thisrange of foot sizes. With the Rakuchin Kirei series ofshoes, we expanded the range of sizes we offer from
7 sizes to 16 sizes, covering foot sizes from 19.5 cm to27.0 cm, in order to accommodate customers wanting tobuy shoes that were previously unable to due to their
physical characteristic of having small or large feet. The
Rakuchin Kirei series now covers 100% of Japanese footsizes, allowing it to provide joy for all customers.

Try-On Stores Serving Customers Nationwide
Try-on stores are short-term events held at shopping
centers, including those other than Marui and Modi
stores, throughout Japan to encourage customers topurchase Rakuchin Kirei series shoes. Samples of all
shoe sizes are displayed to allow customers to verify the
comfort of these shoes at their own leisure. Moreover,these stores address an issue behind the shoe industry’s
choice to offer only “standard” sized shoes: that expanding
size ranges means increasing inventories, which lowers
profit. By operating try-on stores, which feature low fixed
rent and do not require inventories, in an integrated manner,
we aim to deliver joy to as many customers as possible.

Inclusion and New Demand Creation
A large portion of customers purchasing shoes at try-on
stores were buying newly introduced sizes (19.5–22.0
cm, 25.0–27.0 cm). The world is filled with people with adiverse range of physical characteristics, including smallbodied men, large-bodied women, and members of theLGBT community. In its product creation ventures,
MARUI GROUP aims to provide fulfilling lifestyles for all
customers while also creating products that are feasible
from a business standpoint. By expanding the size ranges
and improving the comfort of various products, we hopeto supply products that bring joy to all customers in orderto promote inclusion and create new demand.

Try-On Stores Held in 27 Locationsin 20 Prefectures Nationwide
Comparison of Sales in(April–October 2016)

Marui Stores and Try-On Stores
Customers purchasing newly introduced sizes*
Niigata: CoCoLo Nagaoka

Aomori: Lovina,
Aomori Station Building

Ishikawa: KORINBO TOKYU SQUARE

Iwate: FESAN,
Morioka Station Building

Osaka: KUZUHA MALL

Fukushima: S-PAL Fukushima

Hiroshima: Kamiyacho Shareo

47%

27%→
Marui stores

Try-on stores*19.5–22.0 cm, 25.0–27.0 cm

Customers over 40

Expansion of Shoe Size Range
to Cover 100% of Foot Sizes

Chiba: unimo Chiharadai
Shizuoka: Aeon Mall Hamamatsushitoro

Customers’ Shoe-Related Concerns

Aichi: Aeon Mall Kisogawa
Nagoya Central Park

Customers that stopped wearing shoes
due to poor fit or pain

65%

44%→
Marui stores

Try-on stores

Kagawa: Aeon Mall Takamatsu

41%

Kagoshima: AMU PLAZA KAGOSHIMA

Current Rakuchin Kirei series shoes lineup
100% coverage

Shoes owned by women that go unworn

New sizes

30%

New sizes

Employee Comment

Previous Rakuchin Kirei series shoes lineup
98% coverage

Based on 2013 survey of EPOS cardholders

Standard
industry shoe
size range
72% coverage

19.5cm20

20.5cm

22.5cm24.5cm

26.0cm

27.0cmNatsumi Iwasa
Leader, Development &Sales Section,
Omni-Channel Retailing Division
MARUI CO., LTD.

Delivery of Marui Products to Customers in Regions without Marui or Modi Stores
Try-on stores are often set up in regions without a Marui or Modi store, providing opportunities forvarious new customers to experience our Rakuchin Kirei series of shoes. Many customers lookforward to these events and some travel great distances to come, which provides a source of
motivation. Considering that our mission is to serve our customers, I believe that having
representatives from internal product development divisions as well as from divisions that do notnormally interact with customers, such as logistics, tablet development, and FinTech divisions,meet with customers can help further the evolution of our product development ventures andservices. Try-on stores are a completely new method of selling, a departure from conventional
practices advanced by the Group in an integrated manner. Going forward, I hope to make thesestores into venues for taking on new challenges while working together with everyone.

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Core Theme 1

Core Theme 1

Customer Diversity and Inclusion

Customer Diversity and Inclusion

Financial Inclusionof All Customers

Financial Services in Our Daily Lives

Smartphone Payment Service—Origami Pay
In August 2016, Shibuya Modi introduced the Origami Pay service. This
service lets consumers use theirsmartphone like a wallet.

Money Seminar

Learn

MARUI GROUP is supported by the aggregate total of 200 million customers that visit its 29 stores each year as well
as more than 6.3 million EPOS cardholders. One of our missions is to provide financial services that help realize
fulfilling lifestyles to youths and all other customers.

Encourage

Lend

Increase

Circumstances Surrounding FinTech
The focus of consumers is shifting away from valuing
physical goods to placing more emphasis on fulfilling
lifestyles. Moreover, the advancement of information andcommunications technology (ICT) is making financial
services more readily available to everyone.

Japan’s High Rate of Savings
Ratio of Japan’s total of ¥1,746 trillion inpersonal financial assets that is in savings

52.7%

Transition from Credit Card Services to FinTech
The term “FinTech” is a portmanteau of finance andtechnology and is used to refer to a category of new
finance services that utilize cutting-edge IT to deliver
greater convenience. MARUI GROUP sees the fundamental goal of FinTech as being able to supply financial
services to customers that are not able to take advantageof traditional financial services. In other words, it is
FinTech’s mission to promote financial inclusion by
supplying financial services to everyone. In this respect,
one of MARUI GROUP’s missions is to provide financial
services that help realize fulfilling lifestyles to youths andall other customers. We thus chose the transition fromcredit card services to FinTech, redefining our operationsin this area from a forward-looking perspective.

	Source: Flow of Funds – Overview of Japan, theUnited States, and the Euro area –, Bank of Japan, 2016

DonatePlatform
Save

PrepareConserve

Borrow
Pay

Receipt of 16th Porter PrizeMARUI GROUP’s credit card
services business was awarded the16th Porter Prize. The rationale forour selection included a highevaluation of factors such as how
we ensure the convenience ofcredit card issuance in recognitionof our cards’ position in supporting retail, how our cards arelargely held by customers under 30 due to our policy ofbuilding creditability together with customers, and the large
ratio of revolving payment usage.

New Style of Asset Management—THEO
THEO is Japan’s first proprietarily
developed automated asset
management advisor. This service
instantly proposes an optimal combination of listed investment trusts
from approximately 6,000 candidates worldwide and then manages
user assets. We plan to provide this service to EPOS
cardholders interested in asset management.
Money Seminar for EPOS Cardholders
We held a Money Seminar for EPOS cardholders
conducted by a financial planner. Of the some 2,900
customers that applied for the seminar, 82.9% were
under 30. We randomly selected roughly 500 applicants
to participate, and around 290 of these customers
underwent individual consultation, with some enrolling ininsurance. This seminar verified the high level of interest
in financial services among youths.

→ See page 43 for more information on awards received.

Wealthy

Employee Comment

Rate of Internet Shopping Usage
Ratio of two-or-more-person households
in Japan that utilize Internet shopping
services

Youths27.6%

Miu Masutani
Leader,Card Application Center,
Yurakucho MaruiMARUI CO., LTD.

Source: White Paper: Information and Communicationsin Japan 2016, Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications

Provision of financial services to youths and all other customers

22

Employee Comment

The type of joy sought by eachcustomer that comes to our card
application centers is different.
As I explain our services tocustomers, I often feel that mywords resonate with them when
I describe how I felt in a similar
position. I think application
centers should be venues for us
to ask customers what is needed
for the joy they seek and thenattempt to provide this joy.
Please feel free to stop by one of
our application centers on yournext shopping trip.

Kei Kotani
Sales Promotion Section 2,
Sales Promotion Division,
Sales Department
Epos Card Co., Ltd.

Our EPOS card lineup includes
collaboration cards offeredthrough arrangements with ourbusiness partners. As we build
trusting relationships with partners, we often discuss how
EPOS cards can be used toprovide joy to customers. In
terms of payment services,credit cards are just one tool thatcan be used. I want to go further
than payment services, working
together with partners to offer
even more convenient services
to customers through cards.

23