MANAGEMENT STRATEGYSpecial Report: Management Interview 02

Spearhead the Group’s
Innovative Movement

MAKIYAMA Kozo
Representative Director, President
and Executive Officer
Parco Co., Ltd.

Parco’s DNA is “innovation”
When we opened Shibuya PARCO, weinvited Nintendo TOKYO as a physicalshop. It is the first shop directly
managed by Nintendo in Japan. Thiswas realized because our staff
enthusiastically communicated toNintendo the meaning of opening thisshop. Parco’s ideas obtained deep
support, which led to productdevelopment in collaboration withtenants in Shibuya PARCO.
Also with regard to a collaborationevent held in Shibuya PARCO in40

INTEGRATED REPORT 2022

November 2021 to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of Cup Noodles, I think ourstaff made a great contribution byproperly communicating Parco’s
activities and building a relationshipwith the company. I felt Nissin Food
Products Co., Ltd. is close to Parco interms of innovative ideas. I wasimpressed by their seriousness about
researching and developing theproducts that respond to healthconsciousness. I think Nissin Food
Products could get to where it is now
because it has continued to innovate.
I think our corporate tradition isbuilt upon a series of innovations
because the thoughts of the employees
who have Parco’s DNA are consistent.
I would like them to win the hearts ofour business partners using Parco’s
DNA while they work for Parco. I would
like to work with all at Parco to pursue
the results that create genuine articles
with stories.

Digital technologies to keep
the real world alive
Parco holds a digital art contest NEW
VIEW as one of the uses of digitaltechnologies. People who won
excellence prizes there have grown sothat their works are sold at amazingly
high prices. I think Parco’s uniquenessin digital terms is in focusing on theincubation of artists and creators. InShibuya PARCO, which is our imagecore, a cross-border order for the only
product of its kind available only there
is becoming commonplace. The use ofdigital technologies not to activate EC
but to deliver products to people whoshould experience them here and now
or crave for them is progressing.
A bigger point than that is that ourprimary focus in our digital strategy isto create factors to inevitably enticecustomers to visit physical stores. Forexample, we are creating a new
business scheme that pop-up
boutiques of luxury brands operateusing digital technologies while weaffiliate with them through EC sales.
We are also working to make Shibuya
PARCO a so-called “sacred place” as alocation business.
I think the Real×Digital Strategy to
be addressed by the J. Front RetailingGroup is how we will use physicalstores from the perspective of going
beyond time and space rather than how
we will promote EC business.
Furthermore, more and more
people will enjoy being served. I think
not a few people realized how much
fulfilling talking with others, wavering,and selecting a product are. They musthave thought anew that they wanted tobuy from that person or that theywanted to talk with that person. Goingforward, couple consumption will
emerge. I call it “human consumption.”
I think digital technologies to activate“human consumption” are most integral
to the Real×Digital Strategy.

Nagoya Nishiki 3-chome District 25
project (tentative name). For both,leasing is going well. And the exterior
design of the buildings, theestablishment of good relationships
with respective local communities, andnegotiations with the government areprogressing at an accelerated pace.
The J. Front Retailing Group has mainly
operated department stores andshopping centers. I am excited about
what commercial facilities will becreated inspired by the combination of
the specialty shop business and thedepartment store business. We
anticipate complexes will dominate in
the future and I would like to strongly
demonstrate that we will be able toapply the sense and design of theoperator of commercial buildings to theentire complex building.
We also entered a residence
business. I think we will be able tocreate something a little different fromthe past. For example, for the project inNagoya, Parco’s design team oversees
the common space of the residence.
Co-working space and a lounge will
also be created. Parco’s employees
who live away from home or live incondominiums think co-working space
will be useful when they are with theirfamilies in this era because they canwork away from their families in thesame building. We suggested this idea
to our business partners and they
accepted it.
At present our development
projects are smooth sailing and ourideas are increasingly expanding. As adeveloper, the Group can do somethingother companies cannot do. The time iscoming to specifically demonstrate it.
So I do hope you will look forward to it.

To become a unique developer

Value creation leading toWell-Being LifeIn September 2020, we took over thereal estate business from Daimaru
Matsuzakaya Department Stores andwe have worked with the members
from the Department Store to give a
concrete shape to the Shinsaibashi
project (tentative name) and theThough our story has changed a little
due to prolonged COVID-19, my current
awareness is that Parco’s achievementof the medium-term plan is coming insight unless the status of COVID-19
gets worse.
Parco’s role in following the Group

Vision “Create and Bring to Life ‘NewHappiness’” is to spearhead the Group,
to give rise to movements including
trials, which lead to it, and to become asource of new culture so that the next
generation will enjoy and feel enrichedby creating new culture. I think it is an
important factor that leads to theGroup’s sustainability management.
Parco exudes an image ofentertainment as well as shopping
center. Their common point isproduction capabilities. Parco’s
strength is incubation. In theentertainment business, we grow minor
artists to major ones, and in theshopping center business, wecorporatize individuals and support
them until they become major
companies. Such incubation is Parco’s
strength. As we can provide stages inwhich employees pursue job
satisfaction, we will create a team todevelop them so that they canimplement their own innovative value
creation there.
As Parco has valued staying close
to art, rare works can be distributed to
the Department Store through Parco.
We would like to newly deal in NFTs inaddition to conventional works. They
are not special for the Generation Z.
Therefore, I would like to learn from ouryoung employees to do this.
It can be said that the current
phase provides a great opportunity for
Parco. Parco is expected to provide notthe conveniences of life but somethingthat “enriches people’s lives.” In thecurrent era, I think spiritual richness,that is to say, Well-Being Life is thegreatest happiness. I believe Parco’s
creation of culture and incubation ofvarious people through entertainment
will lead to Well-Being.

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