Kao Corp

TSE:4452

Earnings Call Transcript 2021-Q1

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

My name is Kenichi Yamauchi, Executive Officer, in charge of accounting and finance.

As usual, I would like to start with some market situation. In the upper left graph, the blue line is the year-on-year change in the market. As you all know, sales increased significantly last year due to the special demand related with COVID-19. The market conditions were also positive. So the year-on-year figures for this year are quite challenging. However, if you look at the orange line above, the comparison from 2 years ago shows that the market is relatively strong and stable. The market for household and personal care is stable. As for the growth rate of cosmetic market in Japan on the right, the blue line shows that the growth rate seems to have improved in March this year, but the impact of the pandemic began to appear around March last year. Due to this effect, the growth rate seems to have increased slightly. However, as you can see from the orange line, the cosmetics market still faces challenges compared to 2 years ago. The consumer purchase price for 15 major household in personal care categories, shown below the slide, is a figure that has risen considerably. Recently, months -- in recent months, consumers have been buying more in large volume, high-priced products in a single shopping trip, value-added products are becoming more common, and stores are selling less at discounted prices. That is why price steadily increase in the brisk manner.

Please turn to the next page. This time, we have also included data on Kao's main markets in Asia, the markets in Europe. It does not cover the entire market like the Japanese market, but shows the situation in the markets we are entering. In China, we have already seen good numbers in Q1, which are relatively strong and have returned to normal as you can see in the figures of the first quarter of 2021. However, you can see that the situation in ASEAN countries, such as Indonesia and Thailand, is quite challenging. The Americas and European markets, below the slide, are also in a difficult situation. With the U.S. doing somewhat better and the U.K., Germany and Europe in a difficult state. This situation may have something to do with the fact that we only sell hair care products and facial cleansers, but this is the reality.

Please turn to the next page. Here are the highlights of the consolidated financial results. Net sales were JPY 320.6 billion, down 5.1% from the previous year. Excluding the slight positive impact of currency translation, sales were down 5.7% from the previous year. Operating income was JPY 30.9 billion, down by JPY 8.3 billion or 21.2% from the previous year. Income before income taxes was JPY 33.9 billion, a decrease of JPY 3.4 billion from the previous year due to the positive impact of foreign exchange gains and losses. The foreign exchange gains and losses narrow the gap with the previous year by about JPY 5 billion. Net income was also down JPY 900 million from the previous year. The revision of the bilateral tax treaty between Japan and Spain had a positive impact of about JPY 2 billion on the tax effect of retained earnings, resulting in a net profit of JPY 26.2 billion, down JPY 900 million from the previous year.

Next page, please. This slide shows an overview of consolidated results. As many of you are aware, sales of household and personal care products increased significantly last year due to COVID-19-related demand, so this year's results were a little challenging, however compared to Kao's planned figures, sales were in line with or even slightly better than the plan. The cosmetics business is also affected by the declaration of a state of emergency and lockdowns. So the figures are pretty challenging, but they are also in line with our expectations. We are seeing strong recovery in March and April. We don't know if I should call them relatively strong, but they are performing as expected. Sales of chemicals are improving due to the recovery of the automobile industry. We also launched new products for sterilization and other application. However, toner binders have yet to recover due to the impact of people not making copies as before. Even so, chemical sales are at a reasonably good level. These are the factors behind the achievement of the operating income mentioned earlier. We have just completed a JPY 50 billion share buyback at the end of April.

Please turn to the next page. This slide is newly added this time. In one slide, you can see Kao's status by business segment vis-à-vis our plan. The top 1 is Hygiene and Living Care business. Since we have newly reclassified the segments, we are showing you this table. The Hygiene and Living Care segment consists of laundry detergents and others previously divided into Fabric Care and Home Care business and sanitary. As mentioned, demand for sanitary napkins, baby diapers and bleach increased sharply last year, and the market has declined as a reaction. In addition, Kao's sales and operating income also declined year-on-year. However, we are maintaining our market share. And as I mentioned earlier, we are slightly ahead of our sales plan. The items on the right, such as evaluation, contribution from new and improved products and e-commerce digital marketing are evaluations from the perspective of management. There is room for a little more progress in digital initiatives, but all in all, I think we did well.

In the Health and Beauty Care category, hand soap sold so well last year that we cannot keep up with the demand, so we see a reactionally decline to that and overabundance of inventory existed in the market and distribution, and it is only now that the stock is finally being cleared. As for disinfectant solutions, there is still excess of products. Those were made in China and Korea in the distribution inventory. So we expect this to be cleared finally, and a full-scale recovery shall begin in the second or perhaps third quarter. However, we are maintaining or slightly increasing our market share. The strength of the Bioré brand is making a positive impact. In the digital domain, we implement various measures such as the Lumiest for the hair color product, Blaune. Lumiest offers a simulation app to help customers select their desired hair color. These initiatives are also improving the situation. The Life Care Business includes commercial use hygiene products and Healthya health drinks, but the market has been depressed due to voluntarily restraint in going out. However, some competitors have withdrawn from the market. So our B2B business grew both in sales and profits year-on-year. However, in our plan, we did not anticipate that the impact would extend to restaurants and hotels, so we thought we could increase the numbers even more. Even so, we were able to exceed the previous year's figures to some extent. The double checkmark in the digital column indicate the impact of Healthya. The Healthya brand does most of its business in the digital realm. We are doing our best in this way.

In cosmetics, as I mentioned earlier, we were affected by lockdowns and other factors. In particular, since makeup products account for a high percentage of Kao's cosmetic sales, our share of both sales and operating income generally declined in the first quarter. However's, we were in line with our plan. In the digital domain, initiatives are underway in KATE and Lunasol brands. We will hear more from Murakami-san later, and we are looking forward to the future development. As I mentioned earlier, the chemical business has been improving overall. We expect that it will grow to some extent this year.

Please turn to the next page. If you look at these figures with what I just said in mind, I think you will understand. Domestic net sales of Hygiene and Living Care were down 3.7% from the previous year. Laundry detergent sales were unexpectedly good. Attack ZERO and other products did well, so we were able to keep sales at this level. This low number in the Americas is attributed to attack in Australia. Also in Health and Beauty Care, there was a drop-off in sales due to the one-off COVID-19-related demand last year in both Japan and the ASEAN region. The Americas was slightly positive year-on-year. This is due to the business for hair salons in the U.S., or eBay is doing very well. And because it's good, sales are increasing significantly through e-commerce and other channels. That's why sales have been turning positive. Next to that, Europe is having a tougher time, including the business for hair salons due to lockdowns and other factors. Lifecare is as I explained earlier. The Americas figure is attributed to Washing Systems, which we acquired a few years ago. Then for cosmetics, sales decreased significantly in Japan due to the tough circumstances. But looking at Asia next to it, China alone was up by 26% and continues to perform well. But Europe is challenging with lockdowns and so forth. Regarding chemicals, sales were good, but sales in the Americas were down. There were cases where our business partners had to shut down operations due to the cold wave. And in addition, toner and binder sales have not yet recovered. But overall, performance in Chemical were good.

On the next page, the results are summarized. On the left, our net sales figures. Net sales of Hygiene and Living Care were down 6.5% to JPY 112.3 billion. Health and Beauty Care sales were down 6.3%. Life Care sales were up by 3.4%, and cosmetics sales were down 14.7%. Chemical was up by 3.6%. As for operating income, Hygiene and Living Care decreased JPY 4.8 billion to JPY 13.2 billion. Health and Beauty Care decreased by JPY 2.1 billion to JPY 11.3 billion. Life Care was up JPY 0.4 billion to JPY 0.8 billion, and cosmetics decreased JPY 3.1 billion to JPY 3 billion in losses. Chemical was up JPY 1 billion to JPY 8.8 billion.

The analysis of change in consolidated operating income shows that most of the change is attributed to fluctuation in sales, but the impact from the change in raw material prices below has not yet materialized as the rise in crude oil prices has a 6-month time lag. The price increase in fats and oils has been covered by the price hike in the Chemicals segment, and the net result so far has been an increase of JPY 1 billion. However, for the full year, we are expecting minus JPY 5 billion impact from raw material price changes due to fat and oil prices remaining at high levels. Crude oil impact yet to materialize and slightly rising pulp prices. I will explain later how we will get it back. We are expecting a negative impact of about JPY 5 billion in raw material cost for the year.

Regarding changes in SG&A expenses. Regarding changes in SG&A expenses. Advertising in Q1 would be ineffective. So our plan is to spend in Q2 and Q3. So we have been saving somewhat for the upcoming spending and are also working on various cost-reduction measures. For example, we canceled the lease for the sales office in Shinjuku as well as the training center in Shinagawa. And now we are using digital technology to conduct training in a new way. We are also thinking of integrating our offices as well as stopping the outsourcing of certain items by making our people more fluid. The positive impact on SG&A is a result of these efforts.

Next, please turn to Page 15. This page shows the forecast for the full year, which reflects what I have talked about. As I mentioned, for the start of the year, household and personal care was down by mid-single-digit at around 95% compared to the previous year. Starting from this point, we are expecting low single-digit growth in Q2 on a stand-alone basis, followed by high single-digit growth in the third and fourth quarters. In this way, we are planning to make a comeback. I don't think it will be that difficult. We will be implementing the measures described here. We also have a variety of new products coming up. For cosmetics, which will be elaborated by Mr. Murakami later, the starting point in Q1 was in the mid teens decline, which was about 85% compared to the previous year. We will start from there and plan to recover our business from Q2 and Q3 as the quarters last year were down. As for the negative JPY 5 billion in raw materials I mentioned earlier, we will continue to reduce costs, as mentioned earlier. Work sales and commuting expenses will change going forward. This new way of working, together with other factors, are expected to make up for at least JPY 5 billion. We hope that we will not have to change the earnings forecast for this year by steadily achieving our guidance. That is all from me.

Murakami-san will now explain about the Cosmetics Business. The floor is yours.

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

My name is Yoshihiro Murakami, and I am in charge of the Cosmetics Business. Thank you for your participation. We understand the investors' concern regarding our Cosmetics Business. Today, I would like to take the time to directly explain the current business situation and the steps we are taking towards 2025. First of all, as Yamauchi-san mentioned earlier, the first quarter results were within our expectations and in line with our initial forecast, but the figures were challenging. I explained a little about this at the full year results briefing in February, but the Cosmetics Business is currently amidst structural reform. At present, it is challenging to generate profits at the JPY 50 billion level of sales as was the case in the first quarter. On the other hand, if the top line exceeds JPY 70 billion as it did in the fourth quarter of last year, we could generate nearly JPY 10 billion in profit as seen in the fourth quarter of last year. This situation explains our current business structure. Therefore, we are working on structural reforms daily to lower the breakeven point. And I would like to explain this a little later.

I would also like to add a little more information about the first quarter. Of course, we were affected by the harshness of the Japanese market. But I would also like to add that we are deliberately working to reduce shipments a little in the first quarter. As I have mentioned several times in the past, we promote business operations from an ESG perspective. In the Cosmetics Business, we are trying to correct the conventional practice of selling-in in large volume, taking many returns and discarding a mass volume, which is not desirable. In other words, we are working a little more restrained to ensure that we sell-in the optimum amount of products. As Yamauchi-san mentioned earlier about the marketing expense, we had expected the market to be tough from the beginning of the first quarter. In that sense, we have concentrated the launch of new products in the second quarter or later to some extent. Therefore, the trend in the first quarter was as expected. Conversely, from the second quarter onward, we believe that we will achieve our initial plan. We are very concerned about the start of the second quarter with a loss of JPY 3 billion in profits, but we are preparing concrete measures for the second quarter. We are moving forward to the point where we will generate a solid 4% to 5% profit for the year.

I want to share with you the current situation. And the risk resides and the recovery situation of the Japanese market. This is a weekly sellout data by SRI in supermarkets and drugstores in the Japanese market, and it shows the weekly sales for the past 3 years. The bar graph show, from left to right, the trend in 2019, 2020 and 2021. As you can see, weekly sales began to decline in February 2020, falling to the 80% level compared to 2019. In May and June, there was a sudden drop in 2020 compared to 2019. In contrast, in 2021, as shown in dark blue, in January and February of 2021, the sales were depressed because sales did not fall that much last year in the same period. However, March onwards, we were finally able to surpass previous year sales, little by little. In the most recent weeks, despite the declaration of a state of emergency, the market has returned to about 135% of 2020's level and 85% of 2019's level. We are hoping that the Japanese market will return at this rate, but we do recognize that there is a risk here.

This is a busy slide, but I hope it will give you an idea. If you break the Cosmetics weekly sell-out data by category, the trends become apparent. The eye makeup sales in the lower right corner are extremely strong right now. Eye makeup is gaining traction as people are wear masks. Sales were 130% to 140% compared to 2020. The sales also exceeded 2019's level. The market for eye makeup is growing more than the pre-COVID era. Skin care has exceeded 100% compared to 2020. And although it has not yet exceeded the level from 2 years ago, skin care is the next strongest category. The 2 categories that have not yet recovered are base makeup and lip market. Base makeup is still about 70% of the 2019 level. The sales of lip makeup are still less than 40% of 2019's level as you can see in the dark blue bar. It has been challenging to raise the level from last year's base. This is the reason why we have slight concern over the Japanese market. If the Japanese market should prove to be difficult, we will work to achieve our annual target by offsetting with the businesses in China and Europe, which are doing well.

I would like to take this opportunity to share with you what we are thinking about -- towards 2025. We are considering 4 main pillars, which are: brand enhancement, structural reform, DX or digital transformation and globalization. Before I explain each of these pillars, I would like to share a little bit of the image we have for 2025. As you know, we were able to increase our top line and profits relatively in 2018 and 2019, but we were hit hard by COVID-19 then after. We are now working to bring our business back to the pre-COVID level of 2019 by 2023. And after that, we hope to put our business on a high-growth trajectory. We are working towards a 15% profit margin. In 2019, we were able to reach 14% profit margins. But as you know, that was based off the tailwind of inbound travelers. Unless we steadily engage in structural reform and increased marketing spend, top line growth and 15% profitability would be hard to achieve. So as I mentioned earlier, we will strive to reduce the cost of goods sold and fixed costs by about 5%. We are working to raising operating income margins to 14% and then to 15%, while making firm investments in marketing expenses.

I'd like to now share with you some of the key points of our strategies. First, for brand enhancement, we are currently working on the Global11 and R8 brand to make them increasingly unique respectively and gain more presence. As part of this effort, in January this year, as you may know, we reorganized the existing Kanebo and SOFINA Curél businesses organizations into business strategy units. In addition, we are currently reviewing our portfolio, and we have decided to replace 2 existing R8 brand. In light of COVID-19, market conditions and customers have been changing. So in accordance with these trends, we have decided to replace the 2 brands that are mainly makeup brands to 2 skincare brands that are sharp and promising. They are due an extremely unique skincare brand and Milano Collection that has high profitability. However, Lunasol and Coffret D'or continue to be very important makeup brands for us. But rather than aiming for top line growth, we will thoroughly promote structural reform and move away from what I mentioned earlier of producing a lot of products, delivering a lot of products, taking a lot of returns back and disposing of them. We have already started to take on the challenge of creating a sustainable model by reducing waste. In this sense, we would like to develop the Lunasol and COFFRET D'OR brands firmly. About the technology that supports the brand, just to mention a few points, first, the social invasion. And next year, we will finally launch a product that addresses last lines. The 3 pillars of technology will support our brand products, together with surgery cosmetics and user experience with monitoring, which is one of Kao's strength.

As for structural reform, although it's a little bit similar to what I just mentioned, we need to change the cosmetics business model, reducing waste is a big part of this. Also, we will raise the composition of skin care products to lower the cost of goods sold ratio. Then there is the beauty counseling company. Just last month, on April 1, we decided to integrate the beauty counseling companies that have been operating separately for 15 years. The total number of employees of the 2 companies is over 6,000, which is a very large organization. By combining the 2 companies into 1, we will be able to allocate personnel more efficiently, and we believe that we will be able to streamline a lot of the duplicated staff work. So we have been working on this since last month in order to strengthen our brand and also for structural reform purposes.

As for DX, digital transformation, in January of this year, we established the DX co-creation center in the Consumer Products Division, and we will be working on the shift to e-commerce as well as UX, as I mentioned earlier. We will work on enhancing value through user experiences and by leveraging digital and shift from just manage factoring products. In addition, for digital communication, as consumers are changing considerably, we are currently promoting various digital communication activities for each brand, including KATE's makeup lab.

Last but not least, I'd like to talk about the acceleration of globalization. Of course, we will focus on China. But for Europe, although the market is facing tough conditions right now, SENSAI and Molton Brown are doing very well, relatively. So these are some areas where we would like to also focus to promote globalization.

In China, as I've already mentioned several times, we are very strong in the Masstige Segment, mainly with Curél and freeplus. But on the other hand, there is still a lot of potential in the prestige area, and we are thinking of making a firm attempt in this area. As already released just last month, we were able to open our first store in Hainan Island. We are planning to open many more new stores in the future. The Hainan Expo is scheduled to start today, and we will have booth for SENSAI, est and fine fiber. In this way, we are also working to strengthen our efforts in Hainan Island. In addition to this, we are currently working to strengthen the promising prestige segment in China by utilizing social buyers and engaging in C2C.

Although brief, this concludes my part.

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

Thank you very much, Mr. Murakami. This concludes the presentation part.

We will now begin the Q&A session.

[Operator]

We will start from Sato-san from Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

[Wakako Sato, analyst]

I understand we are asked to pose one question only, but I do have many questions. Could you tell us about the baby diapers? The state of sanitary is apparent due to the recent reclassification of segments. I understand that there was a special demand last year. However, while Kao launched new products in Japan last fall, baby diaper sales seemed to drop as before, both in Asia and Japan. Is there a particular factor in this area? Kao intends to launch new products in China, but would this be successful? It seems that sales both in Japan and Asia are falling rapidly. Could you please explain?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Yamauchi would answer your question.

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

China is an exceptionally tough market. Right now, we are competing only with our conventional products. Japan is doing reasonably well, but China is not doing so well. So we are still in a difficult situation. We intend to overcome the current situation, and we are planning to make a big comeback in the third and fourth quarters of this year as we are developing improved products in the full-fledged manner.

[Mitsuhiro Watanabe, executive]

This is Watanabe speaking. I want to make a few additional comments. As we have explained in the past, we are currently rebuilding the Merries brand business over 3 years. In terms of numbers, it looks like a slight decline compared to the previous year, but the general situation has not changed from what we communicated 3 months ago. Particularly in China, prices have been dropping considerably since last year's 618 Mid-year Shopping Festival. In response, we have also been cutting back on shipments. So sales have fallen toward the end of the year. In the first and second quarters of last year, sales were still reasonably high. So it looks like China sales are down year-on-year. However, this does not mean that any new negative development has emerged. Therefore, as Yamauchi-san just explained, we will launch new baby diapers in China in the second half of the year with complete confidence. After that, we will make our next move. So rather than making a big comeback from Merries this year, we hope to show you the positive outcome next year onwards.

[Wakako Sato, analyst]

How is the market share in Japan doing? Are we just seeing the reaction to the special demand? Or is the market share increasing or decreasing?

[Mitsuhiro Watanabe, executive]

If you don't mind, I'd like you to explain, including the situation with Laurier. The market share of Merries has been increasing according to SCI's consumer purchase household survey. We are still entirely relying on consumers living in Japan, and we are steadily increasing our market share. However, Japan's birth rate is in the 800,000 range per year. So the overall pie is not large. We need to somehow make a comeback in China and Indonesia. As for sanitary napkins, in the first quarter of last year, that is in the latter half of February, paper products, especially toilet paper and other daily necessities pretty much disappeared from store shelves to a large extent. We generated much sales last year partly due to the stock-outs of our competitors. As a reactional decrease, our market share has dropped slightly in the first quarter of this year. In addition, I believe that the industry sales dropped by more than 20%, and this situation is continuing. The frequency of use and the number of napkins use decrease because people are refraining from going out. Therefore, market as a whole is not picking up.

[Operator]

Miyasako-san from Jefferies Securities.

[Mitsuko Miyasako, analyst]

This is Miyasako from Jefferies Securities. Can you hear me?

[Mitsuhiro Watanabe, executive]

Yes, we can.

[Mitsuko Miyasako, analyst]

Since Murakami-san is here, I would like to ask you a few questions about cosmetics. I want to ask about the prestige skin care brands of SENSAI, est and global Kanebo. What do you think of the current progress since the renewal? How do you plan to proceed in the future? Also, you're planning to open 20 stores on Hainan Island, but will you be focusing in this area going forward? What percentage of your sales do you expect to come from this area in 2025?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

This is Murakami. Thank you for your question. Regarding the 3 prestige skin care brands, first of all, SENSAI is doing well after it's restaging. It is doing well, especially in Europe, gaining a considerable market share in Germany this year. In Japan, the number of stores handling this brand is still limited. So we are about to start a full-scale expansion from now on. I think we are fully prepared to expand into China. You asked about the 3 brands, but our top priority is to launch SENSAI in China this year. We cannot do everything at once. So we will definitely prioritize. Global Kanebo was restaged in Japan in January last year and became a brand that communicates hope through the slogan, "I hope." I believe that it is also doing very well, especially in the area of facial cleansers. However, I imagine that full-scale development in China will take place a little later. First of all, we will start with SENSAI in China. As for est, we have released GP line and are in the process of revamping the brand. There is an issue of cannibalization between the existing lotions and the GP line. However, in general, the prestige restage process is progressing well. As for the ratio of prestige in China, right now, almost 100% of the sales comes from Masstige. We intend to grow the Prestige contribution to around 20% of sales in China by 2025, stronger than 20%. In a sense, the strength of Masstige is equivalent to Kao's strength. We intend to add-on prestige to our business while firmly developing freeplus and Curel and Masstige.

[Mitsuko Miyasako, analyst]

How long do you have in mind for opening 20 stores on Hainan Island?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Not within this year. We would like to open by next year.

[Mitsuko Miyasako, analyst]

So do you mean 20 stores in about 2 years?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

That's right.

[Operator]

Next is Ohana-san of Okasan Securities.

[Yuji Ohana, analyst]

This is Ohana from Okasan Securities. Can you hear me?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Yes.

[Yuji Ohana, analyst]

I have a question about the overall consolidated results. I think the gross profit margin fell quite a bit in the first quarter. But was this purely due to mix factor, an increase in the composition of chemicals? I believe that cosmetics have been performing poorly since last year. So I would like to know if they -- if there are other notable factors?

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

This is Yamauchi answering. Sales are down a bit, so that naturally raises the ratio of fixed manufacturing cost. There is more than a 50% impact on gross margin from the drop in sales, leading to the automatic rise in fixed cost ratio. The other factor is a slight increase in raw material cost and the impact of the mix you mentioned earlier. The mix changed as cosmetics fell and chemicals grew. There are no other particular factors that have changed.

[Yuji Ohana, analyst]

I see. I guess, the second and third quarters of last year had a more significant negative impact on sales. But raw materials, in fact, had a positive effect in the first quarter of this year. So I'm not sure if that has anything to do with this.

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

You are right. Perhaps raw material cost did not have that big of an impact.

[Yuji Ohana, analyst]

What kind of gross margin are you expecting for the full year?

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

I think sales will go up for the full year. So the ratio of fixed manufacturing costs will change a lot depending on that. It really depends on sales.

[Yuji Ohana, analyst]

Based on the current sales plan for the full year, what level of gross margin do you expect?

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

Since the cost of raw materials will rise, we initially anticipated the same, if not a little improvement from last year. However, due to the cost of raw materials, perhaps it will be on par with 2020.

[Operator]

Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities, Miyake-san.

[Haruka Miyake, analyst]

My name is Miyake from Morgan Stanley Securities. I want to focus on the cosmetics business in Japan and ask you to break down a little bit more, the revenue decline in the first quarter. You gave us a message that you saw a recovery in March, April. But I would like to confirm how the management perceives it? I would like to know more about the breakdown of the 21.5% decline in sales in the Japanese business by brand. For instance, G11 and R8 by category and also by sales channel. You also mentioned the effect of reduced shipments, but how much did this affect the reduced sales? Also, when you said that you saw a recovery in March and April, you mentioned earlier that market data shows an improvement in March, April compared to the previous year. However, he also said that this is because last year's hurdles were low. So for Kao, does your message of recovery in March in April means that the numbers are improving in appearance only, or does it mean that Kao's measures are starting to work, leading to an improved situation, please explain.

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

So we have attached the material describing the status of G11, global strategic brand 11 and R8, regional strategy of R8. In the first quarter, the composition of G11 was down by 4% year-on-year to 65%. R8 share drop by 22% year-on-year to 22%, it's the state of G11 and R8.

[Haruka Miyake, analyst]

Can you please focus on Japan alone?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

I don't have the detailed figures for Japan at hand.

[Haruka Miyake, analyst]

Understood.

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Regarding shipments, in response to your question, if you look at this chart, sales in Japan were down 22%, which is about 80% compared to the previous year at 78%. But the actual movement of our products in the market in the first quarter was about 90% compared to the previous year. So the difference of about 10 points is associated with the amount of new products we are adding and that we are reducing in addition to the turnover at the stores. So on the contrary, I think you can understand that this will have a positive effect on products since shipments have been reduced. In any case, the turnover at stores was about 90% of the previous year and then a slight adjustment in shipments resulted in a drop to this level in the first quarter. As for the recovery in March and April, from our point of view, from March onward, we saw a significant drop in January and February compared to the previous year. But for March onward, we saw year-on-year increase. Also in April, just last month, global returned to double-digit growth. So in that sense, you can understand that we are now in line with the monthly year-on-year level that we envisioned for the entire year.

[Haruka Miyake, analyst]

Understood. My question is, what you have just said about the double-digit growth in global and turning positive year-over-year in March and April is very encouraging. But what should we think about the pace against market recovery?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Although we'll not go through the details, we are planning to have large promotions in April, May and June. For example, in May, we have plans for Primavista. We are just getting started. We have not exceeded the market in March. But from April onward, the pace is expected to be at or above the market level.

[Haruka Miyake, analyst]

Is it correct to assume that this is also the case when only Japan is taken into account?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Yes.

[Operator]

The next question is from Mr. Hirozumi from Daiwa Securities.

[Katsuro Hirozumi, analyst]

This is Hirozumi. May I go ahead?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Yes, please.

[Katsuro Hirozumi, analyst]

The basic plan for JPY 30 billion in strategic investments. Please tell us how this has been spent in the first quarter, and how you plan to spend it in the future. The president said before that we might see results as early as in the second half of the fiscal year. But do you think we will see the results. Please tell us how you're spending the strategic investment, and how it's progressing?

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

This is Yamauchi speaking. I think it's safe to say that we haven't used the money for marketing investment yet, but the money for DX has already started to be put into use. So when you look at our [Technical Difficulty], I'm sure that you will feel that new initiatives are coming out.

[Katsuro Hirozumi, analyst]

It may be hard to calculate, but how much of the $30 billion have you spent so far?

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

It's a little difficult to put it that way because some of the total amount will be paid out as [Technical Difficulty] and some as investments, but we intend to control the total amount properly.

[Katsuro Hirozumi, analyst]

Is it correct to say that spending will be increasingly go up as the second, third and fourth quarters go by. And that you spent some in the first quarter, which will continue in the second, third and fourth quarters.

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

Yes, that's right. The DX-related spending will be made. There's more to come.

[Katsuro Hirozumi, analyst]

Is there a part that doesn't show up in the P&L because there will be investments and not expensive?

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

There will be. There are also items like that.

[Katsuro Hirozumi, analyst]

And when you say results, are you talking about DX-related results?

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

Yes. So if it doesn't lead to sales, you may not be able to call it result. However, we're working with idea that it will lead to results. And the data we are seeing so far is actually quite good. So I think we can do it.

[Katsuro Hirozumi, analyst]

I see, you didn't use much of your marketing investment in Q1, but you will start using it in Q2. Is that correct?

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

It depends on the department. We are categorizing areas where advertising is effective, and we're not intending on using marketing spend on everything. It's about investing strategically while keeping an eye on sales.

[Katsuro Hirozumi, analyst]

I see. I think marketing investment in Q1 was probably down by about 10% or 14% compared to the same period last year. Are you going to eventually catch up to last year level?

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

Yes, we will.

[Operator]

The next question is from Mr. Hyogo from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation.

[Shinichiro Hyogo, analyst]

My name is Hyogo from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation. My one question is about how your company is poised to change with Mr. Hasebe as your new president? Also, what kind of message do you have to the capital market? You didn't achieve your guidance for the past several fiscal years. So how do you plan to ensure that you achieve it this fiscal year? Of course, there are things that we cannot see in the external environment, but I believe that you were responding with a certain sense of urgency. I'd like to hear from Mr. Murakami as well as others about your enthusiasm. That is my one question. Of course, Mr. Yamauchi, you can answer this question too. It's a good opportunity. It's true that a major factor for the damage to your company's market value is due to the series of under-achievements in previous years. Moreover, people are saying that compared to global peers, your structural reform efforts are belated, and you are experiencing market share loss. Can you briefly state your perspective on how the market sees you?

[Kenichi Yamauchi, executive]

In the past, we talked about things generally. But as you can see in this presentation, we are now focusing more on details, and we are being selective in how we spend. For example, we have already decided not to use TV commercials except for digital. If we have decided on a digital strategy, for example, we are being very strict in terms of how we use money. We also strictly forbid our people to outsource something easily. And we are trying to do work on our own as much as possible now. It's a way to grow, while improving our own skills. Basically, we are determined to achieve the targets we have raised. We are determined to exceed the targets. It is difficult to put it into words at this moment as we have just completed the first quarter. However, I believe that we will be able to see results possibly from the third and fourth quarters. And then we will start to see K25 material life.

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

This is Murakami. Thank you very much for the question. With the new organization under Mr. Hasebe, we are all working together to achieve the numbers we have announced. Mr. Hasebe has been trying to change many things in his own way. For example, the way meetings are conducted has changed a lot. We are trying to have increasingly substantive discussions. All of us, including the executives and employees are working together to achieve these figures, and we are determined to do whatever it takes. I hope this answers your question.

[Shinichiro Hyogo, analyst]

Well, in that sense, your answer is that we should wait a few more quarters. Is it correct to understand that your answer is that you are trying your best to do what you can do right now?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Yes, that's right. We are steadily working on it as we speak.

[Shinichiro Hyogo, analyst]

Is there anything in particular that the independent directors have said during this phase? This will be the last part of my question.

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

The Board of Directors have been discussing what you have been pointing out. Nothing extraordinary has been discussed. As you said, it's about the contents of the K25. We are currently working on how to achieve this internally.

[Shinichiro Hyogo, analyst]

Understood. I think the consensus of the capital market is that we would like to know how K25 is going to be achieved. So please disclose the details when you can.

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Yes, we are having concrete and thorough discussions on it. Please look forward to it.

[Operator]

We are past our scheduled time. So we would like to leave it to one more person to ask a question. It will be Mr. Miura from Citigroup.

[Nobuyoshi Miura, analyst]

My name is Miura. Can you hear me?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Yes, we can.

[Nobuyoshi Miura, analyst]

I'd like to ask a rather positive question. In the area of Hygiene and Living Care, which is the most profitable core area for you? When you look at your company's numbers and the market situation, unit prices have risen significantly. I understand that there are various reasons for this, such as larger sizes, high ASP as well as special factors due to COVID-19. But I would like to know why unit prices are rising? I understand the larger sizes part, but what is the reason for the increase through higher added value? And if unit prices are rising so well, wouldn't this be a driver of profit regardless of whether the current business performance is good or bad. I would like to know what you think about this?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Thank you for your question. As I mentioned earlier, this is about retail price. It's not about the shipment prices of our products, but it's about the retail unit price. The price of a product that used to be heavily discounted will change drastically if the price is no longer discounted. In terms of our products, the shift is towards high value-added products, and we are working hard in the world of small mass products and producing high-quality products, but this doesn't sell in large quantities. Higher-end products are preferred nowadays with availability in small quantities. In addition, the frequency of shopping is decreasing. So more and more people are buying large expensive items to take home. It doesn't mean that companies like ours are benefiting greatly from this, but there is no negative impact either.

[Nobuyoshi Miura, analyst]

I understand how retail prices work, but how much has the unit price of your company's household and personal care business increased over the past year or 2?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

The existing products do not change. When a new product is released, the price may go up little by little, therefore...

[Nobuyoshi Miura, analyst]

So should we expect the average annual unit price to increase by 1% or something like that?

[Yoshihiro Murakami, executive]

Regarding selling price from the manufacturer's point of view, that may be true. However, prices will decrease when there is a big campaign.

[Operator]

Thank you very much. And it is past time now. This concludes today's conference call.

[Statements in English on this transcript were

Spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]