Co-Creation Ecosystem [ Business ]Co-Creative Investment

BSY

SNI

ERDGEIZ

EInvestments that synergize with our main business are defined as investments in companies and newbusinesses that entail superior intangible assets. Through these investments, we aim to incorporate
the unique expertise and other intangible assets of these companies into MARUI GROUP while generating synergies by means of collaboration to grow the earnings of our main business. In cases inwhich we can expect synergies with our main business, we will invest in venture companies not
anticipated to make initial public offerings or in listed companies. This was the case with the anime
business launched in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. We also invest in sustainability companies
as well as in new businesses, such as the securities business of tsumiki Co., Ltd.

Investment

Pocket Marche offers a direct distribution platform that allows consumers topurchase ingredients directly from farmers and fishermen. This platform
communicates not only the appeal of the items being offered but also thestories of their producers, providing consumers with the option to makepurchases based on their values or a story they found particularly compellingwhile also emphasizing the value of direct communication between products
and consumers. Through its business and capital alliance with this company,
MARUI GROUP is examining possible initiatives for creating new value
including in-store events and benefits for EPOS cardholders as it works tocreate new experience value.

Investments

Synergies

Resources

Resources

Investees
New Businesses

Earnings Contributions toMain Business

Investment

New business development

Shaping spaces through a combination of design, business, and technology
is the business of TSUKURUBA Inc. Specific aspects of this business include
providing living proposals matched to customers’ individuality throughdevelopment of offices for start-up and IT companies and the cowcamo
service that lets users find their one-of-a-kind dream home from among alimited selection of secondhand and renovated properties. As our first collaborative venture, we will jointly develop a renovated rental condominium
brand by pooling our resources and expertise. Through this collaboration,
MARUI GROUP aims to ramp up its efforts in the area of housing, where we
expect to be able to improve lifetime value through long-term relationships
with customers.

MAJOR INVESTEES
外国人が日本に来てよかったをカタチに ®

TOPICSFirst B-Side Song—Anime Business
MARUI GROUP established the Anime Business
Department in April 2016 to create a new businessfor contributing to earnings in our main business byMESSAGE FROM A BUSINESS PARTNER facilitating the growth of our retailing and fintechbusinesses. Over the four-year period encompassing the fiscal years ended March 31, 2016–2020,

ONE PIECE EPOS CARD
©Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation License
coordinated by FUNimation® Productions, Ltd.

Began issuing BanG Dream! GirlsBand Party! EPOS CARD
©BanG Dream! Project ©Craft Egg Inc.
©bushiroad All Rights Reserved.

At TSUKURUBA, co-creation has been an important theme in our corporate culture and in our business since the timeof our founding. When looking for partners, we became aware of MARUI GROUP’s co-creation management philoso-

we have invested a total of ¥120 million in anime

phy. Recognizing that this philosophy resonated with our own, we decided to join hands. It has been a number of years

movies. These investments have generated signifi-

since the emergence of the buzzword “open innovation,” but there are still only a few cases of true success in open

cant returns in the forms of synergies with our main

innovation. Success in open innovation requires ongoing commitment, in both rhetoric and action, until it becomes anbusiness and contributions to consolidated operating income totaling ¥4.3 billion.

unwritten part of a company’s corporate credo. This is, of course, easier said than done. Meanwhile, I see co-creation
Sumikkogurashi EPOS CARDGODZILLA EPOS CARD

©2019 San-X Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

TM&©TOHO CO., LTD.

as an effective method of maximizing the value we provide to consumers and to society. The goal I envision for ourpartnership with MARUI GROUP is the maximization of the experience value we offer the consumers that are ourcustomers. This partnership will begin with the development of a renovated rental condominium brand. We will take aHiroki Murakami
CEOTSUKURUBA Inc.

broad perspective with regard to this initiative, seeking to evolve the experiences offered in the rental housing field toinclude digital experiences. I pledged with President Aoi to create an example of successful open innovation in Japan,and I am absolutely committed to ensuring the success of this undertaking.

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Co-Creation Ecosystem [ Business ]MARUI GROUP is pursuing synergies with its main business throughco-creation in forms other than co-creative investment.
New Global Marketplace for Creating New ValueiKASA
Investment“I want to circulate our limited resources to help society thrive.” The
Mercari marketplace app was born out of this realization by the founderEmployee secondmentof Mercari, Inc., as he traveled the world. This company aspires toharness the power of technology to make it easy for people around theNature Innovation Group Co., Ltd. is developing iKASA Japan’s first umbrella
sharing service. With iKASA, there is no need to rush to buy an umbrella in theevent of sudden rainfall; customers can rent one for 24 hours for only ¥70 andthen return it to the most convenient location, keeping them safe and dry fromthe rain. The iKASA service is being developed as a piece of infrastructure forensuring mobility on rainy days by eliminating the restrictions placed on
movement if one does not have an umbrella while freeing them from thediscomfort of getting wet. This service also contributes to the sustainabilityof society by reducing the number of plastic umbrellas that are purchased andpromptly thrown away. We are steadily introducing the iKASA service at Maruiand Modi stores across Japan while engaging in other collaborative ventureswith Nature Innovation Group.

world to link up and enjoy the experience of buying and selling with eachService coordination

Operation contracting

Store locations: Shinjuku Marui Main Building

Easy and Convenient Shipping Using
Unmanned “Mailboxes”

New business development

Life is Tech, Inc. offers Life is Tech ! , one of Japan’s largest IT education­programs for junior high school and high school students. This program isdesigned to foster creativity and allow students to learn about technologies
for creation through the study of app development and other programming
disciplines as well as cutting-edge technologies such as digital art. MARUIGROUP has formed a business and capital alliance with this company throughwhich we aim to jointly create new businesses with an eye to future generations. Our participation is taking the form of support from employees for giving
form to the ideas of students as we accelerate new business development andother co-creation activities. Life is Tech, Inc. is capitalizing on its expertise tocontribute through overall planning, student recruitment, and mentoring tofurther expand co-creation activities oriented toward future generations.

First Physical Mercari Station Location
In June 2020, Mercari, Inc., opened its first physical Mercari Station location in Shinjuku
Marui Main Building. This shop offers offline experiences and services centered on digitaltechnologies, making it highly compatible with MARUI GROUP’s store development
strategies. Mercari, Inc., has also set up a Mercari Station at the LaLa terrace
MUSASHIKOSUGI shopping center (not associated with MARUI GROUP). Operation ofboth of these locations is outsourced to MARUI GROUP employees.

MESSAGE FROM A BUSINESS PARTNER Customers visiting Mercari Station include both existing Mercari users

survey results have shown impressive satisfaction rates of nearly 90%.
Customers who thought the Mercari app would be a hassle haveexpressed that their visit made them see how simple the app was andthat they now want to list an item. MARUI GROUP provides us withsupport for operating our store while also proposing methods of recruiting customers and improving operating practices. Mercari Station
Employee secondment

Collaboration cards

Store locations: Shinjuku Marui Annex, Marui City Yokohama, Hakata MaruiA-too inc. operates Suruga-Ya, a major e-commerce website specializing in secondhand
hobby items centered on plastic models, figures, and other anime merchandise. Together
with this company, we launched the SURUGAYA EPOS CARD in 2020. Moreover, A-too
has opened Suruga-Ya stores in Marui stores. These stores see higher visitation fromfemale customers than A-too’s directly operated e-commerce site or physical locationsin other stores. These locations are thus helping this company make contact with a newgroup of customers. We have also launched a new service in which shipments of items
that customers wish to sell can be conducted at dedicated service counters in Marui andModi stores. This option was previously only available through standard courier services
or at Suruga-Ya locations. In the future, we look forward to further improving customer
experiences through collaborative initiatives that take advantage of our stores and thedistribution networks of subsidiary MOVING CO., LTD.

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the Mercari experience while also making the app more familiar andMercari, Inc., holds Mercari Workshops to teachpeople how to use the Mercari app. At theseworkshops, instructors guide students throughthe experience of finding and purchasing
products and of listing unneeded items for sale
while also teaching them other ways to enjoy
Mercari. Support is also offered for sellers in such
ways as booths for photographing products andconsultation.

are all ages and even come from locations outside of Tokyo. Post-visit

Tenant store opening

points to allow prospective sellers with no previous experience to try out

Venue for Enjoying Learning About andExperiencing Mercari

and individuals who have yet to experience the app. These customers

Investment

other. Mercari, Inc., is expanding its range of online and offline touch

convenient for current users.

Investment

MARUI GROUP wants to hear revolutionary ideas for changing the futurefrom university and graduate school students. Application is open until
mid-November 2020 (Japanese only).
www.0101maruigroup.co.jp/future/Tenant store opening

provides numerous opportunities for making contact with customers,
through Mercari experiences, workshops, events, and live broadcasts.
Through this venue, we hope to communicate the appeal of the Mercari

Mercari Post, an unmanned “mailbox” that allows
sellers to ship sold items simply by droppingthem in one of these boxes. These easy andconvenient shipping kiosks provide services
ranging from automated shipping label preparation to shipping. They are particularly appealing
as sellers can perform all processes leading up
to shipments while receiving support from staff
members by just bringing in the sold items.

MESSAGE FROM AN EMPLOYEE 
Our co-creation activities with Mercari, Inc., match up with MARUI GROUP’s
vision for digital native stores and stores that do not sell. We provide
Mercari, Inc., with store operation expertise and employees skilled incustomer service as well as a venue for allowing customers to experience the Mercari app. This venue helps to enhance this company’s
offline customer contact points and to increase engagement with Mercari.
Those of us who have been entrusted to staff Mercari Station go about
operating the store while emphasizing the importance of both customers
and the needs of Mercari, Inc. We also realize that trust is indispensable
to long-term co-creation partnerships. During the Mercari experiences
offered at Mercari Station, we frequently see customers form a naturalconnection and begin to teach one another, making us aware of theGroup and increase our fan base.

potential for this store to foster a sense of community. In my own capac-Yukiko Ohdo

tinue to be used for three decades.

ity, I hope to help develop a new model for Marui stores that will con-Business Development OMO & mercari Station Manager
Mercari, Inc.

Ryo MatsumotoMore details can be found on the following website (Japanese only).
www.to-mare.com/news/2020/post-3.html

Mercari Station
Shinjuku Marui Main Building
MARUI CO., LTD.

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