Introduction of the Founder

Meanwhile, the export of Japanese food is another segment that will of course directly reap the benefits of the yen's depreciation. As is well known, the export value of Japanese agriculture, forestry, and fishery products as well as food products exceeded one trillion yen in 2021. The quality and deliciousness of Japan's products are highly appreciated overseas. The Government of Japan has a plan to raise this figure to five trillion yen by 2030. But from my experience as a distributor of Japanese products (overseas), I believe that the hidden medium- to long-term potential of Japanese food is at least several times that amount. In this sense, I believe that Japanese food products could even become Japan's second automobile industry. My conclusion is that we at the PPIH Group are taking the lead in establishing a position and infrastructure as the main player in proposing and promoting overseas sales of Japanese foods.

Our overseas business expansion began with the acquisition of three Daiei Hawaii stores in Hawaii in the United States in 2006. Since then, we have been developing our overseas stores mainly through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of existing local supermarket companies, including the Japanese supermarket chain Marukai, the local Hawaiian chain QSI, and the luxury Californian supermarket chain Gelson's. Meanwhile, DON DON DONKI, which opened in December 2017 on Orchard Road, Singapore's busiest shopping street, is the first completely original overseas business format we have developed from scratch. For me, DON DON DONKI is the commemorative first store of my "Second Founding" following Don Quijote in Japan. DON DON DONKI is a Japan-brand specialty store that specializes in Japanese products, mainly foods, and operates at reduced costs through our company's direct trading. It caused a sudden drop in the prices of Japanese products, which made it a sensation in the local media and on social media as an extremely prosperous store right when it opened.

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that DON DON DONKI has been used as an incubator to create new, unique business formats, which could be called spin-offs, one after another. All of these business formats are thriving and playing a role or two in promoting sales of Japanese food, as I mentioned earlier. For example, the first Sen Sen Sushi opened in Hong Kong in October 2021 and has become a very popular local establishment. Sen Sen Sushi already has three outlets in Hong Kong (as of June 30, 2022), and we intend to rapidly increase the number of locations in other countries going forward. There is an extremely high number of Japanese restaurants and Japanese food stores in Hong Kong. Of course, well-known Japanese conveyor-belt sushi chains have already entered the market, making the competition in this industry in a sense even more intense than in Japan. In this context, why has Sen Sen Sushi, which is produced by the restaurant industry outsider DON DON DONKI, garnered such popularity and support from local customers? Of course, the main reason is that customers can enjoy delicious sushi made with the best selection of authentic Japanese ingredients and rice at reasonable prices. This is the most important point. But why exactly is that possible at Sen Sen Sushi? The answer is that the infrastructure of the DON DON DONKI product sales chain and the global supply chain network that supports it are already well established. This means that for us, the sushi we pack and sell in our side dish areas and the sushi we serve to customers on plates are almost identical, with only slight differences in the final process and operations. As a result, Sen Sen Sushi has created a new market as a third type of business format known as "restaurant & retail," which is neither mere retail sales nor a restaurant, and has caused a distribution revolution that only we could accomplish.

I would like to raise one more example of a new business format derived from DON DON DONKI. Tomita Seimai, which opened in Singapore in November 2021, and Yasuda Seimai, which opened in Hong Kong in June 2022, are also popular, prosperous shops that sell onigiri rice balls based on a completely new concept. Most non-Japanese customers cannot understand the quality and actual taste of Japanese rice simply by looking at the shop. Therefore, the rice-milling shops began selling onigiri so that customers can experience the taste of the rice. This caught the attention of many customers who wanted to learn more, making the shops instantly popular. Of course, what we ultimately want to gain favor for among customers at these shops is the milled rice itself. To that end, we want as many customers as possible to discover the taste of Japanese rice through our onigiri. Although there are many stores overseas that sell Japanese rice balls, our business format is most likely the first "onigiri shop" that also sells freshly milled rice in the world. It was popular beyond expectations because of its experience-oriented business format that sells products while showing the "why" and "because" of the deliciousness of the products to customers. Rather than being a mere retail store or restaurant, it can also be called a "third type of business format." In other words, the entrance is a restaurant business format where customers can enjoy freshly made delicious onigiri, and the exit is a retail business format where customers can buy authentic Japanese rice. I believe that this is a hybrid, or perhaps I can say borderless, business format that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

The development of new business formats that can simultaneously sell the excellence of high-quality Japanese ingredients and the taste itself is not limited to rice, but can also be applied to a wide variety of Japanese food ingredients. For example, at DON DON DONKI in Malaysia, our wagyu beef skewers, which are prepared and eaten on the spot, enjoy tremendous support, with customers waiting in long lines to try them. As in the case of Sen Sen Sushi mentioned earlier, the success and establishment of this wagyu beef skewer take-out business directly leads to a virtuous cycle of reducing waste loss through the sale of wagyu beef by DON DON DONKI, and maintaining freshness and prices as a result. In other words, it can be called a win-win business where customers, our stores, Japanese producers and distributors, as well as society and the nation, are all happy. As a purveyor of Japanese food, we intend to expand not only across the ASEAN region, but also all of the United States and the Pacific Rim.

We look forward to the continued support of our customers, partners, and all other stakeholders.