Kokuyo : INTEGRATED REPORT 2024 （9,353KB）

INTEGRATED REPORT

2024

Kokuyo Group Integrated Report

Introduction

Value System

The future we imagine

A self-directed, collaborative society

	Values			Purpose			Vision for 2030
	Co-creation	Presenting	WORK & LIFE
	with empathy
						STYLE Company

The future we imagine

Values

The future we imagine is one in which diverse values are respected, in which personal fulfillment is balanced with helping and supporting others, in which everyone lives life to the full, and in which people are connected in their work life, study life, and private life-a circular economy and a harmonious society. This is the future society we want to help build, and we have named it the "self-directed, collaborative society."

To present a future you can't wait for, we have cultivated three strengths. The first is co-creation with empathy, the ability to empathize with customers' issues and co-create value with customers. The second is our ability to design experiences-in other words, to visualize customers' experiences. The third is our culture of experimentation, in which we keep trying out new ideas, without fear of failure. We want our products and services to deliver experiences that inspire creativity and empower uniqueness. We want to co-create new value for a better tomorrow.

Culture of	a tomorrow you
experimentation	can't wait for.	Shift to
Designing	the "Forest-Like
experiences		Management Model"

Our philosophy

Stimulate creativity and celebrate uniqueness.

Purpose

Vision for 2030

Our philosophy

Our vision of a self-directed, collaborative society is no easy feat. The world has grown more complex than ever and we may always face uncertainties and fears about the future. Nonetheless, we believe that a better tomorrow will come if creativity and diversity are flourish. That is why we keep pitching new ways of working and living-a future you can't wait for. We want people to live free, creative, and more authentic lives, unbound by the past. We will always accompany our customers as they take on their own personal challenges.

Our long-term vision, CCC 2030,* sets out the goal of reaching 500 billion yen in net sales by 2030 through the Forest-Like Management Model. The most important task in this vision is to become a diverse ecosystem of businesses for sustainable growth. To that end, we commit to a fundamental transformation of our corporate culture, our organizational approaches (including human resources), and our way of empowering individuals.

*CCC stands for "change, challenge, create."

Ever since its foundation, Kokuyo has always followed a philosophy of making a positive impact through its products. While this philosophy remains central to our entrepreneurial spirit, we now use the phrase "Be Unique" to express our philosophy and value-creating ethos in a way that is relevant to today's challenges, in a world that is undergoing tumultuous changes. "Be Unique" expresses the idea that we produce products and services that deliver experience value, inspiring creativity and empower uniqueness.

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intangibles. This entrance into office furniture marked the start

solutions, the origin of Kokuyo's shift from tangibles to

feedback, Kokuyo eventually started marketing office space

insight into customers' office layout needs. Guided by this

this business, Kokuyo gathered customer feedback, gaining

In this year, Kokuyo launched range of filing cabinets. Through

Introduction

Introduction

Value Creation

Strategy

Governance

Data

Path of Business Growth

An evolving business portfolio that creates new value

First medium-term plan 2016 - 2018

Self-reform focusing on value creation

Value Transformation 2018

• Transform operation model

• Achieve profitable manufacturing model

Second medium-term plan 2019 - 2021

Enabling sustainable growth

Smart & Sustainable Transformation 2021

• Diversify revenue in order to smarten our earning power

Third medium-term plan 2022 - 2024

Tweak existing business and expand their fields

Field Expansion 2024

1	Dynamic investment	3	Active innovation
2	Empowered talent	4	Social value and

Long-term vision and medium-term plans

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

2027

2028

2029

2030

Long-term vision CCC 2030

Net sales	¥ 315.1 billion	Operating
result:	income ratio: 5.8%

Net sales	¥320.1billion	Operating
result:	income ratio: 6.2%

business value

Net sales	¥	355.0 billion	Operating income	6.9%
target:	ratio target:

* Retroactively adjusted to account for impact of new revenue recognition standard

Third medium-term plan

Fifth medium-term plan Fourth medium-term plan

1905	1968	1969	1997	1998	2014
Early years, groundwork for growth		Business expansion, rapid growth		Reform, expansion in Asia

2015 2024

Embracing sustainability

Kokuyo traces its history back to 1905. In that year, our founder opened a shop in Osaka, believing that any business will succeed as long as it provides something useful. Initially, he produced binders for Japanese-style ledgers (wacho) under contract. He then started producing his own wacho with built-in binders.

The launch of filing cabinets provided an impetus for change, resulting eventually in Kokuyo's current growth strategy of shifting from tangibles to intangibles. That is, in the process of selling and marketing office products, Kokuyo gained increasing insight into customers' office layout needs, culminating in the strategy of offering all-encompassing spatial solutions.

After Japan's asset price bubble burst, structural recession ensued and persisted into the new millennium. Responding to these conditions, Kokuyo launched a bold program of reform, including an overhaul of distribution channels and organizational restructuring. In 2004, Kokuyo formed a corporate group by spinning off its businesses and establishing a holdings company.

In 2015, Kokuyo consolidated corporate assets by merging its business and corporate divisions. It also consolidated group companies to boost the group's earning potential. Over the next six years, Kokuyo worked on two medium-term plans (the first for 2016-2018 and the second for 2019-2021) designed to bolster its business foundation.

Western-style ledgersFiling cabinetFirst generation of Campus notebooks BIO-TECH CHAIRKaunet's inaugural issueDotlinerCampus notebooks sold in ChinaKokuyo Hong Kong Limited

1905	1917	1932	1957 1960	1961	1969	1972	1975	1979	1993	1994	1999 2001 2003	2005	2006	2011	2012	2015	2021	2022

Established
	● "KOKUYO" (国誉) adopted		● Kokuyo launches range of
	as company name		notepads featuring intricately
					colored covers
	● Kuroda starts producing his own		● Kokuyo founds Nationwide
	wacho		Kokuyo Association of
	● Kuroda starts producing other paper	Specialized Shops
	goods (payment slips, notepads,
	carbon books)
In this year, Zentaro Kuroda
opened the Kuroda Ledger
Cover Shop, a maker of
binders for Japanese-style
ledgers (wacho).	of many years of business expansion.

• Kokuyo changes Japanese name from
  国誉 to コクヨ株式会社
  (KOKUYO Co., Ltd.)

● Office space opened		● Production of steel desks
to public (as part of		begins at Mie Plant
"live office" project)
			● Production of building
● Kokuyo listed on the first	materials begins at
sections of the Tokyo Stock	Shibayama Plant
Exchange and the Osaka
Securities Exchange

• Kokuyo launches Campus range of notebooks
• • Tokyo Shinagawa office built

• • Kokuyo launches Easybuy, a platform for purchasing office supplies, in China
• Kokuyo founds Kokuyo Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., marking its full launch in China

In this year, Kaunet Co., Ltd., launched online and catalog sales of office supplies.

• Production begins at Malaysia Plant

● After signing succession agreement, Kokuyo

● Kokuyo unveils long-term vision

● Vietnam Plant enters

acquires Hotrock Stationery (S.Z.) Co., Ltd.,

CCC 2030

service

China's largest notebook manufacturer

● Kokuyo opens The Campus as a lab

In this year, Kokuyo

● Office showrooms opened in Shanghai and

for testing new workstyles

Singapore

acquired a majority

● Production of notebooks begins at Shanghai

stake in Actus Co., Ltd.

Plant, operated by Kokuyo Commerce

● Kokuyo acquires

(Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

HNI Hong Kong Limited

● Kokuyo subsumes Kokuyo Furniture Co., Ltd.,

● HNI Hong Kong Limited

and Kokuyo S&T Co., Ltd.

renamed Kokuyo Hong

● Kokuyo acquires Indian stationery

Kong Limited

maker Camlin Limited, which becomes

Kokuyo Camlin Ltd.

Net sales over time

1988

¥200billion

1979

¥100billion

1991

Established	¥300billion

2008 financial crisis

2005
2011 Tohoku earthquake/tsunami
Centenary

2023

¥328.7 billion

• Retroactively adjusted to account for impact of new revenue recognition standard

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Introduction

Business Fields

To achieve our long-term vision CCC 2030, we have redefined our role as that of a work and lifestyle company. This means that we will now transcend our traditional categories of furniture and stationery and create solutions for a more abundant life. To reflect this redefined role, we have reorganized our four business segments into two "fields": the Workstyle Field and the Lifestyle Field.

WORK STYLE

Work Workstyle Field

Introduction		Value Creation		Strategy		Governance		Data

LIFE STYLE

Learning, daily life Lifestyle Field

Furniture Businesses

In Japan and overseas (primarily, China and ASEAN), we sell office furniture such as desks and chairs. We also provide consulting services for office design and workstyle solutions and deliver setup services.

Our immediate focus is to establish sustained performance by capitalizing on demand for new office builds accompanying the supply of large office blocks in the Greater Tokyo Area and by winning contracts for office renovations designed to accommodate changes in workstyles.

Our future focus is to expand the reach of this business field. To that end, we will expand our office-space lineup, including timber products, digital services, and office setup services, and expand into new Asian markets and markets in other regions.

Japanese furniture business		Overseas furniture business

FY2023 results

		¥154.4 billion	YoY change:
	Net sales	Up 14.5%
			YoY change:
	Operating	¥22.4 billion
	Up 35.9%
	income

Business Supply Distribution

We have a wholesaling business and office mail order (or online shopping) business in which we sell office-ware such as stationery.

Our immediate focus is to improve revenue and profit by growing the customer base. To that end, we are strengthening e-marketing amid the rise of e-commerce, which was prompted by the pandemic.

Our future focus is to introduce a solutions system for large- scale clients that will make the purchasing process more efficient and better suited to diversified workplaces and that will offer a wider lineup. In expanding our lineup, we will channel our direct marketing function. We will also enhance our Group's marketing function.

E-commerce / mail order, Kaunet

FY2023 results

		¥97.8 billion	YoY change:
	Net sales	Up 2.6%
			YoY change:
	Operating	¥3.8 billion
	Up 19.1%
	income

Stationery Businesses

As a manufacturer of general stationery products, including notebooks and files, we sell stationery in Japan and overseas through a wide range of distribution channels.

Our immediate focus is to reform the business structure to enable a full-scale global expansion of the business, with an eye on the growing market for value-added stationery that aligns with people's desire for self-expression (on social media, for example). We have achieved success in marketing stationery and other

items as lifestyle goods to secondary-school girls in China. Our future focus is to expand the reach of the business field by expanding from China to other Asian markets and winning new audiences there.

Japanese stationery business		Overseas stationery business

FY2023 results

		¥83.8 billion	YoY change:
	Net sales	Up 6.9%
			YoY change:
	Operating	¥6.8 billion
	Up 0.2%
	income

Interior Retail Businesses

Through Actus, a subsidiary in which we first invested in 2006, we operate a furniture wholesale and retail business, which includes brick-and-mortar stores and an online store (Actus Online). Actus has a popular chain of interior décor stores for the general public. The stores feature elegant Scandinavian furniture along with original brands of high-quality goods, including furniture, household goods, curtains, and kitchen units.

Our immediate focus is to develop a marketing strategy that integrates Actus Online with the offline Actus stores in order to capitalize on new home life needs amid the burgeoning demand for interior goods.

Our future focus is to increase the relative share of online sales and expand the reach of the field with an eye on the rising demand for online shopping, which was prompted by the pandemic.

ACTUS

FY2023 results

		¥20.3 billion	YoY change:
	Net sales	Up	3.2%
			YoY change:
	Operating	¥0.6 billion
	Down 35.8%
	income

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Introduction

Message From the Editing Team

Introduction		Value Creation		Strategy		Governance		Data

CONTENTS

Clarifying how our strategies are linked to our strengths

To give stakeholders a good idea about how Kokuyo is growing and creating new value, this third integrated report reviews our performance in FY2023, identifies problems, and includes information about 2024 (the final year of the third medium- term plan), namely the progress we are making and the tasks we must address to achieve our goals. We have tried to communicate in a clearer and more logically cogent manner the steps toward the fourth medium-term plan, the strategies we are pursuing to achieve our long-term vision, and the future outlook.

What we have tried to emphasize in particular are Kokuyo's strengths-the source of our value creation. We have three strengths: co-creation with customers, creativity-inspiring technology, and human capital. We show what strategies we are taking with respect to each strength and cite examples of the outcomes these strategies are delivering.

Key points

• We created a more compelling Value Creation Story to make our internal and external stakeholders feel more convinced and confident.
• We have included messages from the CEO and other executive officers to give a clearer idea about the three strengths.
  Message from the CEO, interviews
• We placed greater emphasis on stakeholder communication in sustainable management and in our materiality action, which are our long-term endeavors.
  Commitment to our materiality, stakeholder dialogues

Period to which this report pertains

This report pertains to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, but it also includes information that predates or postdates that fiscal year.

Disclaimer on forward-looking statements

This report contains performance forecasts and other forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on information available and on assumptions considered reasonable at the time of compilation. They should NOT be taken as assurances that the forward-looking statements will prove accurate. Actual results or future events could diverge markedly from forecasts for a variety of reasons.

Introduction

1 Value System

3 Path of Business Growth

5 Business Fields

7 Message From the Editing Team

Value Creation

11 Message from the CEO

17 Value Creation Story: Overview

19 Source of Collaborative Value Creation (Our Strengths)

41 Message from the Managing Officer of the CSV Division

43 1. Improve Wellbeing among Employees and External Stakeholders

47 2. Expand Business Fields through the Forest-Like Management Model

49 3. Respond to the climate crisis

53 4. Contribute toward a circular economy

55 5. Contribute toward a society that coexists with nature

57 Stakeholder Communication

1. Workstyle Field: Business Strategy

1. Lifestyle Field: Business Strategy

1. Field Expansion in Existing Businesses: Business Strategy

Governance

71 Risk Management

Disclosures

Financial information

Strategy

73 Message From an Independent Director

75 Corporate Governance

Kokuyo website

Integrated Report 2024

Simple

Annual securities report

Corporate governance

reporting

Sustainability data

Exhaustive

1. Process for Identifying Material Issues

1. List of Material Issues

1. Message from the CSO

1. Long-TermVision CCC 2030

31 Progress in Third Medium-Term Plan (Field Expansion 2024)

33 Global strategy

81 Meet Our Officers

Data

83 Financial and Non-Financial Highlights

85 Eleven-Year Summary

		Non-financial information
		Main content
Integrated reporting (this report)	Systematic reporting about our business activities and the value we deliver to society
		Corporate governance information that we file to the TSE in accordance with the Corporate
Corporate governance reporting	Governance Code
Includes our approach to corporate governance and information about our corporate governance
		structures
Sustainability data	Detailed ESG data (detailed data on environmental, social, and governance aspects of sustainability)
（https://www.kokuyo.co.jp/sustainability/index.html）

35 Message From the Managing Officer of Human Talent & Culture Division, and Chair of Wellbeing Subcommittee

37	Special	Human capital management
	feature

87 Consolidated Balance Sheets

1. Consolidated Statements of Income
2. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
3. Stock Information
4. Corporate Data

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Value Creation

Chapter

Value Creation

P O I N T

Introduction

Value Creation

Strategy		Governance		Data

11 Message from the CEO

17 Value Creation Story: Overview

19 Source of Collaborative Value Creation (Our Strengths)

• This report includes a message from the CEO outlining how we will achieve our long-term vision
• This report clearly sets out our value-creation story (how we leverage our core competencies)
• This report communicates our ideas bout the sources of collaborative value creation (our core competencies)

CORE

The Core is an open communication hall allowing centrifugal and collaborative communication. It is a place where diverse personalities gather to create a melting of creativity and disseminate new ideas empathetic responses.

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Value Creation

Message from the CEO

Introduction		Value Creation		Strategy		Governance		Data

Drawing on our strengths to achieve our long-term vision CCC 2030.

2023 and FE 2024: In line with expectations

Hidekuni Kuroda

President and CEO

Our long-term vision, CCC 2030, sets a 2030 target of 500 billion yen in net sales. To achieve this target, we've developed the Forest-Like Management Model and have worked on our third medium-term plan, Field Expansion 2024 (FE 2024)-an execution strategy covering, the years 2022, 2023, and 2024. In this strategic context, 2023 represented an important foothold toward the final year of FE 2024.

How, then, did we fare in 2023? Our consolidated financial performance was generally pleasing. Although short of the annual target due to the delayed recovery of the Chinese economy, net sales still showed revenue growth from the previous year, totaling at 328.7 billion yen. Operating income, at 23.8 billion yen, vastly exceeded the upgraded target and again represented growth from the last year. As for net income attributable to owners of parent, we achieved an all-time high of 19.0 billion yen, partly as a result of selling cross-held shares.

Some of our businesses performed better than others, with the variation reflecting national and international economic factors and high raw material prices. The overall picture, though, is one of strong performance. In multiple businesses, we identified problems to address and capitalized on growth opportunities, culminating in palpable progress in our portfolio strategy. Take, for example, our recent acquisition of HNI Hong Kong Limited, an office furniture company in Hong Kong. Now known as Kokuyo Hong Kong Limited, the company is serving as the fulcrum in our efforts to streamline business processes and strengthen cross-selling in China and ASEAN. To give another example, in our

Indian stationery business, we boosted capacity to supply our mainstay products, unlocking a larger market share. In these ways, the seeds of growth we sowed are beginning to bear fruit. Although the pandemic presented challenges for our office furniture operations, our employees promptly recognized shifts in our customers' workstyles and identified corresponding needs, leading to numerous successful deals. Exemplifying this is Work Pod, a portable work booth resembling a telephone box. Work Pod was designed to meet the demand for diverse forms of remote conferencing following the rise in hybrid work.

Let me tell you about our expectations for 2024, the final year of FE 2024. For net sales, we're determined to achieve an annual target of 355 billion yen, representing an 8% increase over the previous year, by further reinforcing the foundations for our portfolio strategy. This goal is mainly predicated upon steady growth in our Japanese furniture business and business-supplies business as well as in our overseas stationery businesses. As for operating income, we're unlikely to meet the initial target set out in FE 2024 given that field expansion in the lifestyle field has been a little slow and also because we're investing in talent and fixed assets ahead of the upcoming fourth medium-term plan. On the other hand, ROE is set to top 8%, exceeding the target set out in FE 2024. It's crucial to meet the targets for 2024, the concluding year of FE 2024, as this success will provide us with a solid foundation for launching our fourth medium-term plan and ultimately reaching our CCC 2030 goals.

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Value Creation

Introduction		Value Creation		Strategy		Governance		Data

Three Strengths and Sources of Value Co-creation:

Seeing as the customer does, focusing on customers' situational contexts,

and having unique talent

convenience store chain FamilyMart, we analyzed the situational contexts in which consumers buy things and applied that to design the layout of the store shelves. Our successes in problem- solving are down to a process in which we focus not just on the

problems. We say "quirky" because they are obsessed with thinking up interesting and unconventional ideas. "Co-creating with empathy" is a core value of ours, and the pursuit for it is an endless endeavor. It refers to the process of building empathic

As I mentioned earlier, during FE 2024 we've been seizing growth opportunities in a number of businesses. This growth is driven by three strengths that represent sources of value co-creation at Kokuyo.

The first of these strengths lies in a corporate culture where we co-create ideas and solutions together with customers. Our employees are good at seeing from the customer's perspective when it comes to developing products (furniture, stationery, office supplies) and the purchasing and delivery services related to them. In other words, our employees can switch back and forth between two different perspectives: They can think as the customer does and they can also think as one who is pitching a solution to the customer. Although it is generally thought that the practice of observing customers is very important in business, we don't believe it's nearly enough to simply engage in passive observation. Instead, we believe it is even more crucial to put ourselves into our customers' shoes. Only by thinking as the customer does can you

such customer-oriented thinking, we've racked up many successes, helping entrench this approach as our corporate culture.

The second strength is that our employees focus not on what products we could sell but on the situational contexts in which the products might address the customer's needs. Kokuyo aspires to be a WORK & LIFE STYLE Company. To fulfill this aspiration, our employees, as a matter of habit, always try to envisage the situational context-in a work environment or private setting, for instance-where the value should be delivered. In the case of office furniture, for example, we might pitch a particular combination and layout of office furniture with the idea that this would support more effective workstyles or enhance communication in the office. In the case of stationery in China, we struck gold with a line tailored for schoolgirls. Our success came from focusing on how stationery could help make the act of studying more enjoyable. To give an example from our B2B

product itself but on the situational context in which it is used. Simply put, we have the talent and technological prowess to turn ideas into reality, and that is one of our key strengths.

Underlying this approach is our culture of experimentation, one of our important values. As part of this culture, we run experiments on our own or together with customers when necessary, to identify potential unmet needs and then focus on solving them. This entrenched culture of ours enables a unique approach to identifying and solving problems. As such, it plays an important role in our product development.

None of these approaches would be possible were it not for our wonderfully unique and creative employees, and we often use the words "diligent and quirky" to describe them. We say "diligent," because employees are devoted to solving customers'

resonance with customers and expanding the possibilities to co-create value with them. But as to whether our "diligent and quirky" employees have opportunities to fulfill their potential, this hinges upon the workplace climate and corporate culture. Management must therefore provide a workplace environment that respects employees' individuality and rewards challenge- taking instead of punishing failure. Management must also ensure that employees feel psychologically secure, so that they have the confidence to take on the next challenge. Thus, to ensure our sustained growth as an organization, we need to encourage an open, fair, and non-hierarchical culture that supports diligent and quirky employees. I and the rest of management will stay committed to building an organization and culture to that end.

generate brilliant ideas for new products and services. Through

operations, in a joint product-development project with the

A self-directed, collaborative society:

Real progress and outcomes in material issues (materiality)

"Presenting a tomorrow you can't wait for" is a corporate purpose statement we unveiled in 2022: We then made 2023 a year for communicating this purpose to our internal and external stakeholders. We used TV ads to broadcast employees' visionary ideas and I actively made a number of media appearances. In this way, we succeeded in our goal of communicating our commitment internally and externally. What matters, of course, is what we do from now on. As we put our long-term vision into practice, we need to give internal and external stakeholders a clear idea of the visionary ideas we have (the kind of tomorrow we're presenting) and how we will make them a reality. Our visionary ideas remain ideas for now, but everyone's pumped- employees are raring to make them a reality.

1. 2030 commits us to work toward the future we imagine: a self-directed collaborative society. I know this sounds like an impossible dream. After all, many people today would say that living a self-directed life and being true to yourself are hard to balance with being a collaborative team player.
   To reconcile these contradictory elements, we need plenty of

creative ideas and innovation. We also need to clarify where we are headed-to set out what exactly we should be doing through such innovation. With this in mind, we identified five material issues. Addressing these material issues will unlock our potential for continually creating value over the long term and it will also lay a foundation for a self-driven, collaborative society.

In our efforts to tackle the material issues of 2023, the primary focus was on urging employees to take initiative and be proactive. This is because employees are faced with a balancing act that demands creativity and innovation: they must meet urgent customer demands while also working to solve medium to long term sustainability issues.

Employees have indeed been taking the initiative and devising ideas for the material issues, and their actions have started producing fruit. For example, to address the material issue of improving wellbeing among employees and external stakeholders, employees developed the idea of Hows Park. Hows Park is a joint initiative in which Kokuyo employees work with the employees of Kokuyo K Heart, a special (disability-friendly) subsidiary of ours, to

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Value Creation

Introduction		Value Creation		Strategy		Governance		Data

develop products with inclusive design. The goal is to get inclusive-design products representing 20% of new product launches by 2024. Hows Park emphasizes both living a self-

a program of environment learning for kids across Japan. The program involves collecting and recycling used notebooks. Since its launch in November 2023, a total of 86 schools have

Delivering our purpose in a changing world:

Toward more self-directed and collaborative workstyles and lifestyles

directed life and being true to yourself. It equally emphasizes being a collaborative team player in society. After a period of testing, Hows Park started full operation in June 2023. It organizes workshops to develop products. In FY2023, it developed an envelope storage box with a design that makes the envelopes easily grabbable. It is now a product series.

Another material issue is to contribute toward a circular economy. For this issue, employees came up with Tsunage Loopa,

participated in Tsunage Loopa, with a total 20 thousand tons of notebooks brought in for recycling. An increasing number of schoolteachers and students in elementary schools are expressing an interest in participating. Echoing this interest, our employees have shown an increased appetite for developing more new products. It's really wonderful to see employees start to take the initiative and engage proactively in building a sustainable world.

The world will continue to move at a breakneck pace, bringing further changes to workstyles and lifestyles. As people's values grow increasingly diverse, so too will people's motivations for working and studying. In this world of change, our role as an organization is to deliver ideas and solutions for a better work life, a better study life, and a better private life. This is exactly what our purpose (presenting a tomorrow you can't wait for) is all about, and this is how we show the world our unique worth. By fulfilling this purpose, we'll be helping people be both self-directed and

collaborative in their work life, study life, and private life, which in turn will help create a better planet and society.

In order to keep broadcasting our purpose to the world, we want to keep taking on fresh challenges in the global arena with the trust and confidence of our stakeholders. I hope that Kokuyo will earn your continued trust and confidence as we present ideas for workstyles and lifestyles of tomorrow. I look forward to our continued journey together.

Changes in 2024: A new talent management policy, stronger corporate governance

If we are to achieve the CCC 2030 target of 500 billion yen in net sales, then we need to expand the reach of our businesses. In 2024, we're making anticipatory investments in talent and infrastructure to unlock growth in the years ahead.

We can predict that as we expand the reach of our businesses, we will be met with the need to take on new challenges. It will be increasingly important to invest in the talent necessary to digitize and globalize our operations, including existing ones.

Against this backdrop, we established a new talent management policy in 2023. The purpose of this new policy is to empower each employee by fostering an organizational culture conducive to challenge-taking and by providing opportunities for growth (see the feature article on human capital management). Under this policy, we're going to ramp up talent development efforts. We've also committed to increasing the hiring of fresh graduates and mid-career talent, and in 2024, we doubled the previous year in the number of fresh graduates we hired. With a high proportion of our workforce consisting of employees aged

50 or older, we feel that hiring more young graduates will bring in fresh perspectives and ideas. We'll also focus on a form of talent development that fosters a mindset that is willing to take on the challenge of transcending existing business boundaries and creating new value.

1. 2030 commits us to long-term value creation, in which we create both social value and economic value. One way we build our long-term value is to strengthen corporate governance. As part of this, we switched our corporate structure from that of a company with an audit and supervisory board to that of a company with three designated committees (nomination, audit, and remuneration). With this transition, we'll be operating in the final year of FE 2024 with a clear separation between management supervision and business execution.
   If we are to make real progress toward our vision in the run-up to 2030, we need to make decisions quicker. Streamlined decision-making in business execution is essential to sustaining and accelerating our revenue growth. Being a company with three designated committees means having a clearer division of roles and responsibilities between those who supervise management and those who execute the company's business. This clear division will enable us to make decisions quicker than we could previously. Along with this new structure, we're encouraging our frontline employees to be proactive challenge-takers and to engage in a PDCA cycle of continuous improvement.
   I believe that our transition to a globally standard corporate governance model will help convince a lot more investors and stakeholders about our commitment to corporate governance.

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Value Creation

Value Creation Story: Overview

The future we imagine

1. self-directed,collaborative society

A world that respects diverse values and combines individuality with social cohesion. In this world, everyone feels connected and finds fulfilment in work, learning, and everyday life.

Material issues	Sources of value creation (inputs)
(materiality)

Introduction		Value Creation		Strategy		Governance		Data

Purpose

Presenting a tomorrow

you can't wait for.

When creativity and diversity flourish, a better tomorrow will come. By proposing new workstyles and lifestyles, we continually accompany customers as they take on challenges unique to themselves.

Value creation	Outputs	Outcomes
activities

Improve

wellbeing

Transition to

1. management system that

creates social

value

Respond to

Values

Co-creation with empathy Culture of experimentation Designing experiences

Kokuyo's strength = Creativity

Strength Co-creation with customers

We create value with stakeholders

• Visitors to live office (total): 8,380
• Items in Kaukore premium series: 670 (some 5,000 products)
• Visitors to KokuyoDoors: 260,000

Forest-Like

Management Model

Developing businesses

in two segments

1. Workstyle Field
2. Lifestyle Field

Actions aligned with

material issues

Improve Wellbeing

Long-Term Vision CCC 2030

Financial target

Non-financial targets

2030	2030
¥500 billion	challenging goal
	See pages 25 and 26.

Third medium-term plan

Financial target

Net sales	Operating income
¥355.0billion	¥24.5billion

Non-financial targets and 2024 commitment goal

Innovation is created,

leading to better wellbeing among diverse individuals and communities.

Through our business

activities, we lead efforts to address socio-cultural issues.

the climate crisis

Contribute toward a circular economy

Contribute toward

a society that coexists with nature

Strength Technology to boost creativity

We safeguard our competencies and leverage them in product development

• Total design rights (unexpired, maintained): 2,267 (1,878 in Japan, 389 overseas)
• Patent rights (unexpired, maintained): 1,386 (1,144 in Japan, 242 overseas)
  *Above totals exclude utility model rights *Above totals include filings from overseas
  subsidiaries

Strength Strength Human capital

We build a team embodying

Kokuyo's values

• External design awards earned: 33
• Manabi Share attendees (total): 2,703
• Paid leave take-up rate: 61.7%
• 20% Challenge participants (cumulative total):
  266
• Percentage of management positions occupied by women: 9.41%

among Employees and External Stakeholders

Expand Business Fields through the Forest-Like Management Model

Safeguard the Planet as a Place for Work and Life

Shift to mindset that values employees' disposable time 100% take-up rate for paid leave among managers and general staff

Women account for 12% of leadership roles

Percentage of new product series that incorporate inclusive design: At least 20%

30 visionary idea (Mirai Yokoku) experiments

100% participation in sustainability initiatives

Emissions reductions target: 50% reduction in our Japanese businesses from 2013 level

100% of new products incorporate circular-economy design principles

100% of key suppliers (some 400 companies) provided feedback (evaluations, issues to address) in supplier

We contribute toward

a more sustainable

society.

*Accurate as of December 31, 2023

Our

philosophy

evaluation survey

Sustainable Business	To build a self-directed, collaborative society, we will present a tomorrow
Strategy	you can't wait for and lead the way in sustainable business practices.

17 KOKUYO CO., LTD.

Integrated Report 2024 18