Shiseido Co Ltd Ord

Mr. Fujiwara, please start. So, first of all, as we have already announced on April 24th, Mr. Yokota, the current CFO, will step down at the end of June due to personal reasons. From July 1st, Mr. Yokota will be succeeded by Ms. Hiro Fuji, currently Chief Investor Engagement Officer and Chief DENI Officer, who assumed the position of Deputy CFO in May. Since joining the company in 2005, Ms. Hiro Fuji has served as a company in various capacities, including corporate planning, president of overseas subsidiaries, general manager of strategy and finance department, general manager of investor relations department, and from this year, chief DA and I officer. She is very well versed in the company's global expansion and reform practices. Mr. Yokota has been CFO since January 2021, has made many accomplishments during the difficult times, including the COVID crisis. We shall strive for smooth handover and aim to achieve sustainable profit growth and build a resilient business structure in 2024. We will complete our business transformation under the new structure while attaining growth and structural reform. As for the focus project, a renewal project, of a general core system which Mr. Yokota has been leading. Its introduction is almost complete and we are now entering the value creation phase through the introduction of a new core system. I will lead this project directly as COO. I would like to start by inviting Ms. Hirofuji. to say a few words. My name is Hiro Fujii and I will assume the position of CFO in July. I'm strongly aware that Shiseido is now in a very important phase to establish a highly profitable structure through business restructuring in Japan and in other countries and regions. I would also like to support from the finance aspect Shiseido's strong desire to further strengthen the core areas through further selection and concentration to achieve sustainable growth as stated by our COO Fujiwara. In addition, we have had many direct dialogues with investors and analysts in the capacity of investor relations. We deeply appreciate your expectations for the future, and we are committed to connect them to the management of our company. The strategic framework of SHIFT 2025 remains unchanged. We will accelerate growth by aggressively investing in our brand, human resources, and innovation, and we will achieve an early recovery in business performance by streamlining costs so we will earn your trust. Thank you. Then I would like to explain about the progress of the reform. First of all, in the first quarter of this fiscal year, we made a good start as we achieved a real sales growth rate of plus 3% and core operating profit of plus 11.3 billion yen, despite an environment in which some effects of treated water release and inventory adjustments remain in China and travel retail. The highlights include the steady implementation of structural reforms, the recovery of market conditions, and the increase in market share in the local Japan market and Prestige China market due to strategic marketing investments to firmly maximize their recovery. There is no change to our full-year forecast. the thinking behind this forecast later. In the rapidly changing and complex market environment, we will maintain our strategic focus on agility through fixed cost reductions while maintaining investments for long-term growth and on capturing market share by nurturing brand values. and we will continue to maximize earnings in the second quarter and beyond, while maintaining our strategic focus as mentioned above. In the following sections, I will explain in more details what the status of our Japan tribal retail and China business, which are the core of our structural reform. In Japan, growth has accelerated each quarter since last year, and in the first quarter, we achieved growth well above market and increased our market share. In particular, our core brands, which have been a large shift in investment, have achieved growth in the upper 20% range, while our hero products have achieved high growth of over 30%, leading the overall growth. We will continue to accelerate effective sales generation through well-balanced investment allocation. We are also very encouraged by the accelerating growth momentum in the mid-priced segment in the first quarter. As people resume meeting others and enjoying themselves, such as cherry blossom viewing without masks, we see an increase in their aspiration to take care of their skin or put on nice makeup since they will meet other people. We believe that Elixir's high growth of plus 20% in the first half of the year is helping to boost the overall mid-price market. I would like to reiterate the measures to support the strong growth I mentioned earlier. In our Japan business, where we are building a new growth model, our focus is on our core brands in terms of brand strategy. Our core brands Shiseido and Clé de Peau Beauté are growing at a high rate of over 40% and 30% of local customer purchases, respectively. We are building a foundation for sustainable growth by steadily increasing the number of loyal customers. We are also focusing on creating new markets. In the new category of foundation serums, A company-wide challenge in Japan during the period, two products have already been launched in the first quarter, already contributing to 6% of the first quarter revenue growth in Japan, and further growth is expected as TV commercials have been launched since April. In the Elixir category, we launched Toto V Firming Cream in the second half of last year, which leads to the creation of the anti-cycling market. Since the launch, it has maintained the top market share with strong sales growth. In addition, Shiseido and Kledopo Bote raised their prices in April, but the volume decline after the price revision was not as significant as anticipated, and we have confirmed that demand is firm. Next, as a touchpoint strategy, we developed a free experience model in the drugstore channel. which will change the way the stores and shelves are built and improve them into easy-to-understand shopping areas with fewer and more carefully selected SKUs to achieve higher sales growth. The pilot project was launched last year. Based on the success of the pilot, this year we will proceed with a full-scale rollout at a little more than 3,000 stores centering on mainstay stores. In addition, the growth rate of e-commerce sales in the first quarter of this fiscal year was in the high 20% range. largely accelerated from lower 10% growth throughout FY2023. Going forward, we will continue to pursue three strategies to achieve 30% growth by 2025. The first is to strengthen customer EC, which integrates offline and online sales. This will be achieved through our OmisePlus service, which allows offline customers to freely make purchases online as well thereby improving LTV, such as through continued use of the brand. Second, we will aggressively expand into specialized EC sites, aiming to meet more new customers. And we will strengthen our own platform. In July this year, we will revamp the design and functionality of the Watashi Plus platform to further strengthen the relationship between consumers and the brand to achieve sustainable growth.

The progress of structural reform is shown on page six. In order to transform ourselves into a new growth model, we have implemented human capital transformation, MIRAI career plan, and I would like to re-delete our thinking and approach to the business transformation. Behind this necessary reform, there is strong conviction that we have to build a structure that enables Shiseido, the mother market Japan business, to generate stable earnings and value in an organization that enables our employees to thrive and play an active role. To this end, Japan business needs a business transformation, not simple cost reduction, and set sustainable growth, building a profitable foundation and human capital transformation as pillars of our transformation. In addition, to narrowing... In addition to narrowing the focus to our core brands, we strengthen investment by focusing on hero products and create new markets to achieve sustainable growth. As explained so far, we have achieved solid results in Q1. In terms of building a profitable foundation, selective rounds and touch points contributed revenue growth. Optimized efficiency spending significantly improved the OP margin compared to last year, generating a good cycle. And human capital transformation. To achieve business transformation, we need to change the way we work and the skill we possess. We have identified the capabilities required, invested in human capital, such as reskilling for employees who will work with us, and implemented an early retirement support package for those who chose to pursue their future career outside the company. The application period of the early retirement support plan ended on May 8, and with 1,477 applicants, as explained, the effect of this plan is expected to be 10 billion yen in two years, of which 3 billion yen is expected to be realized after Q4 of 2024. To follow up the progress of COGS efficiency improvement, including establishment of profitable foundation, COGS was reduced by about 1 billion yen already due to improved mix by focusing on core brands, By improving the mix and promoting SKU optimization, we aim to further expand earnings through growth. In terms of marketing and other expenses, streamlining sales promotion materials will begin in the second half, while the benefits of reviewing IT systems are already realized since Q1, and other expense savings will likely be realized in Q4. These reforms will not be easy. Nevertheless, we are determined to carry out these reforms with strong conviction that they are necessary for Shiseido to continue to sparkle in the future. With the key message that there is nothing that cannot be changed, that I will continue to work so that the Japan business will transform itself as an organization to be able to create a new future of Shiseido, an organization not being afraid of change. Next is about travel retail business. Channel inventory adjustment is underway as planned. And those in Korea, Highland Island, were just adjusted to the appropriate levels at the end of last year and the end of first quarter, respectively. We expect monthly shipment sales to turn positive from May. Future growth will be achieved by optimizing inventories and returning to sales growth trajectory, especially among travelers. We plan to raise the sales ratio of travelers to 70% or 80% level by 2025. We will also promote more stable growth and profit generation by streamlining sales in Japan, Europe, and the United States. Next, let's look at the Chinese business. Even with the moderate market growth, reforms are underway that will enable stable growth and profit generation by identifying growth areas and making focused investments. We feel that the market in China is changing faster and faster. That is why I am pleased that we have been able to move quickly to optimize our organization. Amid such volatility and uncertainty, we have been able to protect our profitability by maintaining a lean organization and a disciplined approach to investment. Our focus area, high prestige, grew by high single-digit NARTS, grew low 20% growth rate. As a result, the group as a whole was able to increase its share of the prestige market in Q1. In international Women's Day promotions, we achieved strong sales with more than a double year-over-year growth as a company on TikTok, a growing e-commerce platform, and due in part to the development of new brands, and six times or more year-over-year growth achieved in prestige sales, and achieving better than the market growth for prestige category in Tmall, JD, and TikTok combined. In order to achieve even higher quality growth, We launched a campaign in April to communicate a brand value at Shiseido and Anessa, and Drunk Elephant already began full-scale communication in April. Meanwhile, operational reform has been underway since last year in line with our growth strategy. The organizational structure is transformed to the one speedily adjustable to cope with market changes and offline stores are being optimized to improve productivity. The cost reductions being promoted as part of the global transformations are based on the action plan to exceed annual targets and to ensure that even if the effects of individual action fall short of expectation, additional actions will be taken so that targets are surely met. In Q1, approximately 3 billion yen of savings was generated. In addition, we have already started initiatives to improve the employees' productivity worldwide. The benefits of this initiative will be realized mainly from the second half onwards. We will continue to accelerate company-wide initiatives. efforts to deliver over 15 billion yen in 2024 and over 40 billion yen in 2024 and 2025 to surely generate profits. That is all from me. Thank you. Next, Ms. Hirofuji will report on the first quarter earnings.

Now I will explain the business results. First of all, on page 11 is the summary of P&L. Sales grew 3.2% year-on-year in real terms, with the negative growth in China and troubled retail steadily narrowing, and steady growth in New York and the U.S. and Asia Pacific, with momentum accelerating particularly in Japan. Core operating income declined 1.2 billion yen to 11.3 billion yen, partly because the previous year had a high profit structure with 12.5 billion yen in the first quarter out of annual 39.8 billion yen. Though the profit decreased compared to the previous year, we had a good start exceeding the target. The impact of lower sales in travel retail was more than offset by the increase in income in Japan and other regions. Operating income was a loss of 8.7 billion yen, a decrease of 19.3 billion yen from the previous year. As Mr. Hirota explained, we record a provision of about 18 billion yen in the first quarter for structural reform expenses for the early retirement support plan. As for the briefing on February 10th, We expected to record the provision for the second quarter. However, we recorded it in the first quarter with the number of applicants that was highlighted, and that calculation could be performed for the amount of provision. Profit attributable to owners of the parent company decreased by 12.0 billion yen from the previous year to loss of 3.3 billion yen. This is due to the fact that 20.1 billion of the 30 billion yen in non-recurring items was recorded in this quarter. We expect both operating income and quarterly profit attributable to the pairing company to return to profitability from the second quarter onwards. In terms of cash generating ability, EBITDA margin was 9.8% compared to the annual plan of 11.5%. Next, on page 12, sales results by brand. In the first quarter, Shiseido had negative growth in China and troubled retail due to the lingering impact of treated water release and inventory adjustments in distribution. However, despite these circumstances, the high presence of the credit pool boutique has high Thank you very much. which led to the overall growth. Elixir also achieved positive growth, with double-digit growth in Japan contributing to the positive growth despite negative growth in China. Anissa also grew in Japan and China, but was affected by inventory adjustment in travel retail, resulting in flat sales year-on-year. Next, on page 13, sales strengths. In the first quarter, overall, we turned to positive growth. While sales in China and travel retail were below the prime previous year's level, as expected, it was compensated for by growth mostly in Japan, the Americas, and Europe. The biggest highlight was Japan's high growth of plus 20%. The business transformation measures, such as brand selection and focus, strategic investment allocation, are steadily yielding results, and strong growth is being achieved centered on core brands. We have announced price increases in Japan this year, the effects of which are expected to be felt from the second quarter onward. In the first quarter of this year, we achieved a high growth rate of plus 20% due to the effect of pure volume growth, including the rush demand before the price increase. The trend up to April may suggest that the volume decline after the price hike will not be as large as expected. In China and Japan, The troubled retail, although growth is still negative due to the impact of treated water release and inventory adjustments, the negative growth rate is steadily decreasing. In addition, EMEA continues to perform well. Europe in particular has achieved double-digit growth for five consecutive quarters since the first quarter of last year. Page 14 and 15 are about Japan and Japan. China business, but since Mr. Fujiwara has already explained some of the key strategic points, I will simply focus on data and business in these two regions. First, let's look at Japan. As shown in the dotted line graph, the scale of the local market as a whole was returned to almost pre-COVID level. The good news is that year-on-year growth momentum in the mid-price segment is accelerating. On the other hand, it is also true that the mid-price segment is the one with the most significant negative growth compared to 2019, even in the first quarter of the year. We will accelerate the initiatives that are currently yielding positive results to achieve a further turnaround from this point. Next, in China, we saw negative growth as expected, but the strong performance of Clé de Porte and Nars Brands that we see as offering the best return on investment in the current environment contributed to share expansion in the prestige segment. The branch you say, though, also had the largest and longest-lasting effect of treated water release. We will continue to implement measures to achieve a turnaround from the second quarter

So page 16 are the four regions for travel retail. As I explained, we have been working to optimize inventory levels since last year, and as a priority, restricting shipments with strong determination. As a result, the channel inventory has been optimized, and we expect a full-scale recovery in the second half, with the solid shift to a healthy business model focusing on travelers. In the Americas, double-digit growth achieved by brand Shiseido and Drunk Elephant contributed to overall growth of 9% and 22% when Dr. Dennis' growth skincare included. EMEA also maintained strong growth led by Shiseido and Drunk Elephant, as well as fragrance category Narciso Rodriguez. In Asia Pacific, the growth was driven by Southeast Asia, especially by Thailand. We will continue to accelerate growth in Americas and India and balance regional portfolio as a mid- to long-term initiative rather than a quality-based approach. With respect to fragrance category, which shows a good momentum globally, we will implement initiatives to maximize business opportunities. Page 17 shows the COGS ratio. The solid line shows the value reported in the institutional accounting, and the dotted line shows like-for-like COGS ratio. The gap between the two, which used to be large in the past but narrowed as planned. Special factors such as product supply due to business transfers, impairment loss, and structural reform expenses related to factory transfers are expected to be reduced this year, so the solid and dotted lines are expected to remain close to each other. Year-over-year increase in the like-for-like hogs ratio in the dotted line is 24.1%, which is attributable to increased excess inventory write-offs due to the slowdown in China and travel retail and unfavorable brand mix. After Q2, especially in the second half, the product mix is expected to improve thanks to a decrease in excess inventory, a full-fledged recovery in China and travel retail, and an impact on price increase in Japan focused on the core brands and optimized SKUs. We are taking measures seriously to reduce COGS in an effort to achieve the target set in the midterm plan. Page 18 is about core operating profit by segment. First, the large OP decrease in other segments is due to a significant decline in investment sales to, sorry, inter-segment sales, inter-segment sales to travel retail and China. In region, a large decline in sales of the travel retail, which has the highest profitability, caused a lower profit. Despite salary increase due to inflation and higher expense for digital investment, the overall consolidated year-over-year core operating profit decrease was managed to 1.2 billion yen level, thanks to an increase in profit and stabilized profitability in Japan and other regions. The overall cost control and strategic allocation of marketing investment contributed more efficient and effective sales growth. In Japan, the business transformation is steadily yielding results, and measures are being taken to accelerate growth. While lowering fixed costs and structure is being formulated to retain profits from higher growth profits driven by sales growth. Thanks partially to the rush demand before the price increase, the profit margin of 9% in the first quarter is higher than our actual capability, but we are making steady progress toward the target of over 20 billion yen for the full year. In China, sales declined due to the impact of the treated water release, but early implementation of measures to optimize the organization and reduce fixed costs, and the organization is now in the position to respond swiftly to the rapid changing market environment. The Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific also posted higher profits due to higher growth profits from the revenue growth and cost efficiency. While improving profitability in each region, we will further accelerate growth in the Americas, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and Japan local in order to optimize regional balance of profitability. Finally, slide 19 shows 2024 forecast with the opportunities and risks. The closing of Dr. Dennis' gross skin care, which was not included in the February report, was successfully completed in February. The sales impact on consolidated results for the current fiscal year is expected to be approximately 14 billion yen, with a minor impact on core operating profits. Due to expenses specific to the first year and amortization costs on the intangible assets, contribution to profit this year would be minor, but it has double-digit EBITDA margin and plans to increase earnings by expanding the scale and internalizing the production. And other opportunities going forward include continued momentum in Japan local market, which performed extremely well in the first quarter, especially for core brands, and maximizing sales for non-Chinese visitors in Japan, which already outperformed the level of 2019, and further acceleration of the growth in America's EMEA and Asia. In addition, there is possibility of uplift in foreign exchange rates due to the continued depreciation of yen. On the other hand, the changes in China consumer sentiment of purchasing behavior will affect not only in China business, but also travel retail in Asia as well as Japan. There are opportunities but seen as a risk at the moment. Therefore, the four-year focus remains unchanged, and we continue our efforts to maximizing our profits.

And we will take one question from one person at a time. And when we go around all the questions, we will take second round of questions. Now for securities, Kuwahara-san. Yes, please. Hello. This is Kuwahara from JP Morgan. Thank you very much for your briefing. One question is about the structural reform and also the performance. Now, the core operating profit exceeded the target, as you mentioned. And to what extent did it exceed? And what is the background? Is it the revenue or the profit margin or the cost of goods sold or the SG&A cost? And also... In the Appendix 4, Page 24, in fact, the rate of the SG&A cost increased to 70.8%. But depending on how you look at it, so it's the personal care... Shiseido business were separated and because of that the COGS went down by 5 percentage points and so it seems to be supporting the good performance so it seems to me that the cost for the structural reform this time is not so easy to see it's not so visible so if you think that is not the case please explain in detail Then let me answer your question. So the core operating profit, 11.3 billion, and so we exceeded some billions of yen above the target, and so good performance was in Japan, which exceeded the target. in the sales. And also, the cost control was also strengthened. And in addition, there's the timing shift of the cost. For instance, the Chinese profit. So this is about the profit in China. There was a shift in the timing. Year on year, last year was 39.8%. and there's 1.12 billion. So there's a shift in the timing. So it is not against the target, but then year on year, there's a 1.2 billion yen reduction in the profit. So that was the result. And so mainly Japan and also China saw the performance different in terms of the revenue and also the time shift. Thank you. What about the rate of SG&A? So it's 70.8%. Now, is it better than target? Now, this is the first quarter, so it tends to be high. And do you expect that this is going to keep going down from second quarter onwards? Is that possible to think in that way? Yes, you're right. In regards to SG&A rate, There's no major gap with the plan or the target. But then there's the year-on-year, the forex cost. So there is, to be honest, the increase in the forex cost year-on-year. So due to the forex impact, the cost is expanded because of the weaker yen. And so that is also reflected here. in this SG&A increase. And so for this plan, again, so there's not so much gap against the other target. And also going forward, as Mr. Fujiwara said, we will proceed steadily with the structural reform. So from second quarter onwards, we would like to show a better result. Thank you very much. One last thing. Japan, why is it doing so well? What is the background? So is it the creation of the new market, or are there any other elements that's pushing up the good performance in Japan? I understand it's a last-minute purchase before the price increase, but why did it perform so much better? So then let me answer to that question. First thing, so our gross... strategy to focus on the core brands, and the core brands steadily demonstrated growth, leading the overall growth of our business. In particular, brand Shiseido and also Clé de Peau Beauté grew significantly, and this growth comes from the new customers. And that is good news for us. And in that, there's a foundation serum, which will lead to new markets. And we managed to capture good sort of new customers. Eighty percent of the sales of the foundation serum comes from new customers. and about half of the customers are in their 20s. So this new launch has turned out to be very successful. And since April, we started the TV commercial. So going forward, we expect that there will be even more new customers so that we will continue to grow into the future.

So thank you very much.

Very clear.

Thank you for the question. Thank you very much for taking my question. Related to the previous question, the global cost reduction effort of which First quarter, $3 billion, and four-year, $11 billion. That is $15 billion. So that was the explanation you gave us. But in terms of the support for the Korea human resource, That will be realized in the second half. So that means the first quarter, you already realize some of the good elements. So it might be already realized in the first quarter. So there might be some athletes. And then in the first quarter, we don't see any impact on the price increase yet, right? So in the COGS statement, you said that the impact on the price increase. The impact that you are showing in this paper is a little bit of conservative in my view, so you can just give us some color on that? Okay, so first of all, I would like to talk about the human capital transformation, 3 billion yen impact, a little less than 3 billion yen, to be honest. So 50% of that was driven by Japanese effort, and the remaining 50% is China and other region. That is the impact of the first quarter, impact of the human capital transformation. And Kogs? there should be some adjustment in terms of the timing but this 3 billion yen impact will be continued in the fourth quarter it's not the case but at least our plan which was already announced 15 billion for 2024 we are on track and GTC committee If there is an uplift or down lift, some ups and downs always be recognized. Whenever there will be some shortfall, we are trying to compensate with other initiatives so that we will generate profit through these initiatives for the full year. Thank you. So the first quarter, $3 billion, is slightly above your original target? Yes. Thank you. For the first quarter, you're right. So in terms of the impact of the price increase for the second quarter onwards, for the price increase in Japan, I already explained like a 2 billion yen or so impact for this year is expected. So that will be realized after the second quarter. So far, in the previous presentation, explained the first quarter, where were some advance payment, advance realization of sales. However, the progress to date, there was no rejection compared to the rush demand in the first quarter. So, as I indicated in the guidance, the opportunity must be maximized so we do not miss any opportunities. So we are now keen to achieve that. Thank you very much. Allow me to add one thing. For Japan, the first quarter, there was the impact on the COGS. As I explained, the core brand, the focusing on the core brand initiatives and brand and product mix are now contributing into the COGS improvement greatly. So this effort will continue, and then after April, we will realize the price increase impact. Then there should be some good momentum. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Next, we would like to invite from Ms. My name is Miyasako from Mizuho. One moment. Okay. Thank you for this opportunity. So overall, the business seems to be performing well. So my question is surrounding the eliminating all the risks. And since Mr. Fujiwara is here, about China, about the global societal, the water release seems to be... But then there's a cause, which is very close to Altimmune. And I wonder, the business is affected by this very similar products and also for the foundation. There is a shift and also a lack of balance with the other brands. So the cons and so there may be some other, the new cons may come up in the market. So the sales seems to be a bit slow. unstable from my understanding. If it's not correct, then please correct me. In the first half, for the three years, the revenue growth is set to be 5%. What about the stability of the sales growth going forward? Thank you for the question. One thing I can say is In regards to brand Shiseido, from April, we have launched a campaign, and out of the impact of the treated water release, unfortunately, there are some customers who moved away from the brand, started to come back and we hear such voices because they find other products not comfortable to use. So we would like to push these customers who are coming back to Branchiseido and we have launched a campaign for that since April. And it's not the campaign such as the W11 and other marketing events and in So what we are doing is to explain the efficacy and effect of the products that we sell. So it is the comfort in use and also this combination of ingredients to maximize the effect. We promote and communicate. We will communicate and promote those aspects. And the result of this promotion will, in the end, push up the effect of the large-scale promotions in June to start with. So according to the latest information, we are capturing a lot of new customers. And in addition to that, When it comes to competition in Chinese market, in particular the differentiation with the local brands, in terms of the effects and the efficacy, the Japanese and also the European, the U.S. brands are different. in a better position. So we have launched the campaign focusing on the cream so that we will have sufficient differentiation with the local Chinese products or brands. And so we will launch some activities to enhance the brand value and also At the same time, in parallel, we will try not to deal with the major KOL and launch the promotion in the right scale. And another point, the biggest good news is that in the first quarter, we have – face the reduction in the profit but then as a result of the significant structural reform since last year we are securing the profit meaning that even if there is a fluctuation in the top line we have completed this process pattern of business or the style of business in which the profit is always secured. And since Chinese market is rapidly changing, when we find the right investment, then we will do so rapidly. But then if we find that some investment will not work, then we will quickly withdraw from it so that we will secure the overall profit. And so that means that you have launched a lot of cost control so that the profits went upwards. Yes, that is correct. And about China profit, I would like to supplement some information. So, yes, it is the less revenue and a higher profit. So the revenue went down and the cost was controlled, but then the marketing cost was increased. So apart from the marketing, we are tightening the cost aside from marketing costs. So that's why, as Mr. Fujiwara said, although the revenue goes down, then a profit can be secured. So what was the cost item that you controlled other than the marketing? other than marketing. So it's a back office related, and also the human resources reform, which we already announced before, and we have already launched that cost control, and there's a good result coming up from this. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Now, CLSA, all of

Hi. I'm not sure if you can hear me, but let me go ahead. Congratulations, Hirafuji-san, on your new role and very clear presentation. I have a question about Dr. Dennis Gross and the derma segment opportunity. Two things. One, how big an opportunity could this be for you longer term and also could you talk about the speed of the rollout because i think trunk elephant was a similar acquisition but it did take quite a long time to get going you're only just going in china now and maybe that was covered should we expect you to be a bit faster for dr dennis thank you yeah thank you very much oliver and the first point is that for the other opportunities of the drama category

And we are very positive and to having for the big opportunity for the Dharma. Because of the one is that this is a growth category in the world, not just for the America, but also the Europe and also Japan and China as well. And thanks to acquiring for the Dr. Dennis Gross, so we fill it up to the good portfolio in the Dharma. Because of the before, so we don't have any appropriate for the brands. So I expected to the Dr. Dennis growth is really capturing for the market share and adding for the further growth in our business. And the second point is the rollout speed. So first of all, we are more focused on to the USA markets. So this is very important to build up to the strong fundamental in the whole market for the Dr. Dennis growth. Then, of course, if there is an opportunity, so we expect it to roll out to the other region, but don't so urgent or don't so rush.

Okay. Understood. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Next, from Mitsubishi, you are... Hello, this is Hyogo from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Bank. Thank you very much for this opportunity and briefing. In regards to the structural reform, quantitatively, in Q1, there's a good result, according to the briefing. And so for 2024, 2025, for the 40 billion yen, do you feel that some actions are brought forward? That's my first question. And also... This may be a little too early to ask, but so when the structural reform indeed brings the better profitability, will there be any policy for the return? So could you repeat the last part about the shareholder return? Thank you. So as pointed out about the Global Transformation Committee, 40 billion yen, to be honest, we are in the first quarter. So at this timing, for this 40 billion yen project, We cannot say that we are overachieving it, and also we are doing well, so it's very difficult to say anything about the results. So we do have this 3 billion yen result in the first quarter, and we would like to continue with the good work and also in our tracking. will be some negative fluctuation, and how we're going to compensate for it, offset it, will be the main target of this activity and of the destructive reforms. So we're not considering to bring forward the targeted 40 billion yen, but then we would like to steadily achieve this 40 billion yen target of this initiative. That's what we think is very important. And based on that, in regards to the capital policy, as we have been announcing in the past, the direct return of the and also we are trying to make a return in a holistic manner. So in that sense, the capital allocation will go, first of all, to the growth, the investment, and M&A, and then the return to the investors. And so M&A will follow some rules and the – necessary actions and so what we would like to do is to make sure that the positive momentum will be in place towards the end of the year and for that matter we will make the solid marketing investment and we will make the solid business growth so based on that we will be able to we should be able to materialize the shareholder return that's the scenario I have in mind and so So then you talked to us about the quantitative aspect, but internally in your company, do you have a sense that your employees towards the structural reform. So, yes, you did share with us some of the quantitative information. Now, talking about the qualitative aspect of the structural reform, do you have a good atmosphere in place inside of the company to drive forward with a concerted effort among the employees involved? towards the structural reform. First of all, about the Japan structural reform, in regards to the P&L, we explained in detail to our employees so that our employees will understand why the growth cannot be attained even though the sales increases. And so we are explaining that thoroughly. And so we are supporting employee understanding how they can translate this target of structural reform into their day-to-day work. And so this is not the simple story or the top-down story of cost reduction of this or that items. So we are supporting our employees through frequent communication that the meaning of the the transformation is appreciated by the employees so that there will be a culture in place, so that there will be sustained transformation in place with the participation of our employees. And also, being able to drive the transformation in itself is a capability of the organization. And Mr. Hirofuji also mentioned to secure this 40 billion yen target, as a result of the transformation. And in the meantime, we will be working on adding 20% to our target. face the tough times, then we will try to review the target. And so we are running this cycle of reiterating or reviewing our target and the results of our actions on a monthly basis. So we will closely monitor where we are, and we would like to also make our organization globally to be prepared for transformation. And now... I hope that you will keep up the good work up to the first quarter now that you've achieved your target. And I would like to see the good results throughout the year.

Thank you. Now we are running out of time, so we would like to take the last question. Morgan Stanley, thank you. So my question is very simple. I just wanted to hear about the Japanese April situations. But before that, you had a lot of known recorded items, a lot. So I just want to understand the background. So from the very beginning, you have a very, you know, better than the planned or target number, but because there are some known recorded items, right? So the minus 8.7, but one minus 13 billion. Is that the right understanding? Because you are already thinking of a minus 8.7, but or the 30 billion for annual will not be changed? for the non-recording items. For the non-recording items for the 30 billion yen for annual, no changes. So the uplift of that is a core operating profit only. We were talking about the core operating profit. Well, you said that the core operating profit was better than the plan, right? That means that in real or like-for-like is not increased, right? Because the core operating profit was originally $2 billion, but you said that $13 billion was now increased. Increase, right? So excluding non-recorded items. And then we had the co-op increase. Yes, your understanding is correct. So that means non-recorded items, the rescheduled, that is not included in the co-operating profit increase. Okay, I understand that. Very clear. So if the originally the two... The second quarter, that's the non-recorded items, but it's now realized in the first quarter, right? Where two becomes now one. And then the first stage, 45%, and then the first stage. So the second quarter, that was originally that Japan was not so good momentum, but I just want to understand what was your thinking, and then I don't want to be surprised in the second quarter, so can you please share your thinking? Well, thank you very much. Rather tricky question. No, no, no, I'm not raising tricky question. No, the current situation... So in April, consumer purchase or the sellout, so the double-digit or so growth, double-digit, sorry, for the consumer purchase, and then before and after the price increase, the market The credible vote should be really big impact originally, but it's rather 50% of our original thinking. So it's more milder than we thought. Okay. So the double-digit growth level in the revenue basis. Okay. Thank you. That was the April result. Thank you. Okay, so we would like to end the Q&A session. So we would like to close overall the first quarter earnings report. Now IR Division will send you the questionnaire. So I hope you will fill out the questionnaire so that we can leverage your opinions for the better IR earnings report going forward. Thank you very much for your attendance today.