Digital Transformation
In addition to workstyle and organizational innovation, MARUI GROUP must also promote digital transformation
if it is to achieve earnings growth while generating its desired impact. Successful digital transformation cannot be
separated from workstyle and organizational innovation, and how best to address these tasks is thus an
important aspect of corporate reforms in the modern era.

People-Oriented DigitalTransformation
MARUI GROUP’s management has long
been inflicted by a sense of stagnancy
with regard to promotion of digitaltransformation. In January 2023,
President Aoi objectively appraised thisstagnancy by explaining that, while
MARUI GROUP had been transforming
into a company that is more in tune withthe contemporary era, it has still yet toachieve its true goal of becoming an
intellectual creation company thatdesigns user experiences. Digital technologies will be imperative to addressing
this disparity between our current stateand our vision. The strength of digitaltechnologies comes in their ability toallow us to leverage our limited assets
to maximum efficiency and to swiftly
verify hypotheses on shorter cycles.
MARUI GROUP’s slow progress withdigital transformation has been due to alack of the type of highly talented digitally
proficient human resources needed toadvance this transformation. The MARUIGROUP brand is not one that is prone toattract such individuals. This is the reason

we arranged internal digital technology
training in December 2021. We enlisted
the help of co-creative investee Life isTech Inc. in organizing this training. Later,in December 2022, we held MARUIGROUP’s first app development contest
with the aim of uncovering digital technology talent that may be hidden within theCompany.

Muture as a Magnet for AttractingDigitally Proficient Human Resources
Pressed with the urgent need to recruitand to develop digitally proficient humanresources, we reached out to Goodpatch
Inc., a cutting-edge user interface anduser experience design company, insearch of a viable option for addressingthese needs. Together, we found asolution to this dilemma: the establishment of a joint venture between thesetwo companies.
At the end of the day, it is people whoadvance corporate reforms. We therefore
sought to form a joint venture that could
serve as a magnet for attracting talented
human resources. Another aim of thismove was to combine the talents ofGoodpatch’s talented user experience
designers with those of MARUI GROUP’s
staff to advance awareness reforms andstimulate the growth of our people. This
process was anticipated to lead, by necessity, to the transformation of our organizations and of the Company as a whole.
Muture Corporation, the joint venture
in question, started its operations in April
2022 with an initial team of five people
consisting of two members from
Goodpatch and three members fromMARUI GROUP. This team has sincegrown to include numerous talented
user experience and interface designers.
Today, Muture is supporting thedevelopment of such services as theEPOS app and the OMEMIE store opening support service, thereby playing ahands-on role in advancing digital transformation at MARUI GROUP.

fostered over these years has permeated all of our businesses. This process
has led to the creation of businesses
based on a perspective that is radicallydifferent from those of digitally proficient human resources. This differencein perspective is indicative of a greater
difference in the culture between people
who handle intangible software andthose with a culture of dealing in physical items.
User experience refers to the experience provided to users. User experience
design is thus the process of enhancing
this experience. While, in a way, designing a user experience is indeed a part ofdeveloping physical stores, the term isgenerally used to refer to experiences
offered by online services that can beaccessed at any time through internet
browsers or apps. The desires andreactions of all users of such services
are immediately translated into data thatcan be used to guide swift and flexible
improvements to services. Physicalstores also use online data, but the basisof the thinking behind digital transformation is online services.

Benefits Dependent on Organization
Shift Toward Online-Based Thinking
Since its founding, MARUI GROUP has
been a company that provides customers with physical-space experiences inbrick-and-mortar stores. Today, theretailing insight and hospitality we have

Path Toward Vision Using Digital Technologies
VisionDigital Technologies
Leverage
Maximum efficiency in leveraging
limited assets
Disparity

Speed
Swift verification of hypotheses on

Hypothesis verification is an importantpart of creating innovation and introducing such innovations into society. Thisprocess entails collecting data, experimenting with hypotheses, and identifying issues, and digital technologies allow
for increased agility and flexibility in thisprocess. The hypothesis verification
process made possible by digital technologies features greater cost performance than conventional hypothesis
verification processes that do not
employ these technologies. This cost
performance allows for the hypothesis
verification process to be repeated moreeasily in the case of failure. Moreover,these technologies enable the insightgained through this process to be stored
as organizational knowledge.
However, the benefits that can berealized through the use of these technologies are dependent on the structureof an organization. An overly complicated approval process, for example,
can impede agile action. The ongoingcreation of innovation requires the latest
information and insight to be constantly
shared throughout an organization. For
this reason, MARUI GROUP is currently
pressed to transform into an organization that is agile on all levels.

OMEMIEStore Opening Support ServiceOMEMIE is a unique, completely online
store opening support service that is
an easy-to-use option for anyone
looking to set up a store in a Marui orModi location.
Official OMEMIE website(in Japanese only)

Areas of Expertise and Deficiency ofMARUI GROUP
Core Systems

Areas of Expertise
Large-scale data processing
Detailed planning
Waterfall approach
Accuracy and reliability

Different Culture
Agile Development

EPOS AppThe EPOS app is a lifestyle app that
proposes methods of utilizing one’s
money that are matched to the lifestylesof the individual user.
Google Play

Areas of Deficiency
User interface and experience
improvement

App Store

Hypothesis verification
Agile development
Speed and flexibility

shorter cycles

Current State66

Initial team of Muture(Back: From left) Daisuke Azami, Aya Tanabe, andHiroya Nakamura(Front: From left) Takayuki Shibao and Sarasa Yonenaga

67

Appointment ofGoodpatch CEO
as CDXO

Muture has helped us recruit several new employees, who are contributing to the development ofthe EPOS app and the OMEMIE service. However,creating a truly agile organization requires both
frontline effort by digitally proficient humanresources and strong leadership by an individualwith digital technology expertise.
We found this leadership in Naofumi Tsuchiya,
CEO of Goodpatch, our partner in the establishment of Muture. Tsuchiya has been appointed tothe position of executive officer and CDXO (chiefdigital transformation officer) of MARUI GROUP.
In addition to his digital transformation expertise, Tsuchiya also possesses significant insight
into organizational development. In fact, it was aproposal by Tsuchiya that led to the establishment of Muture as a joint venture.
With the perspective of both a digital technology specialist and a manager, Tsuchiya provides
guidance pertaining to the promotion of workstyleand organizational innovation and digital transformation. This guidance is a powerful asset in ourquest to develop agile organizations and transform MARUI GROUP as a whole.
By succeeding in this quest, MARUI GROUP
hopes to garner attention as an example of successful digital transformation and thereby propose a solution to the contemporary issue oflarge companies falling behind in the advancement of their digital transformation endeavors.

Message from CDXO Tsuchiya at Time of Appointment

When people think of digital transformation, theytend to picture the creation of new services andsolutions. However, I feel that a more importantelement of digital transformation is its use to createorganizations that can drive change.
Since the establishment of Muture, I have played
a role in developing human resources and transforming the organizational culture at MARUIGROUP through this company. During the course ofthis process, I have seen our designers help create
new businesses based on the customer’s perspective and reshape organizations via digitaltransformation.
MARUI GROUP is in the middle of this transformation process. The Company thus finds itself in an
exciting state in which new businesses are constantly being created. I am proud to be able to takepart in the transformation of a large and historiccompany like MARUI GROUP. As CDXO, I hope tocraft frameworks that will allow MARUI GROUP’s
talented people to further realize their potential. I willalso give my all to help MARUI GROUP achieve itsvision of evolving into a company that contributes tothe resolution of social issues.

Comments at Strategy Committee Meetings Pertaining to
the Appointment of Tsuchiya as an Executive Officer

Financial service provider Money Forward, Inc., has appointed an individual from Alphabet Inc. to serve as theirchief product officer. MARUI GROUP needs a person like Mr. Tsuchiya in its management. He already has a
track record through his involvement in creating Muture. (Etsuko Okajima)

At monthly meetings of the board of directors of Muture, directors raise a lot of issues pertaining to MARUI GROUP.
If we do not innovate our workstyles and organizations, we cannot achieve a true digital transformation. I am
sure that the insight of Goodpatch will be indispensable to the future of MARUI GROUP. (Hiroshi Aoi)

& magazine article featuring Muture Corporation(in Japanese only)

68

News release detailing the appointment of Tsuchiya as
CDXO (in Japanese only)