Aeon Co Ltd

TSE:8267

Earnings Call Transcript 2023-Q4

[江川 敬明, executive]

I'm Hiroaki Egawa, CFO and Executive Officer in charge of Business Management. Thank you very much for joining today's Aeon earnings briefing.

I'd like to provide an overview of our financial results for the fiscal year ended on February 28, 2023. The Customer behavior, attitudes and values changed significantly during the pandemic. As the resulting environmental changes accelerated, we sought to enhance our overall group earning power by stepping up the 5 reforms set out in our medium-term management plan as part of the common group strategy. Energy and raw materials prices soared in fiscal year 2022 the second year covered by the plan. This resulted in skyrocketing procurement and electricity costs and other factors that made for a challenging operating environment.

Despite this, group-wide cost control through digitalization aimed at enhancing user friendliness and productivity led to operating revenue growth. Such efforts caused a particularly strong resurgence in business areas that were heavily impacted in fiscal year 2021 by the pandemic and led to record high operating revenue of JPY 9,116.8 billion, up 4.6% year-on-year. Cost control and gross profit growth saw operating profit increased JPY 35.4 billion year-on-year to JPY 209.7 billion. Of particular note, the GMS business returned to profitability for the first time in 3 fiscal years with an operating profit of JPY 14 billion.

Ordinary profit increased to JPY 203.6 billion, a JPY 36.5 billion year-on-year increase. Profit attributable to owners of the parent increased to JPY 21.3 billion, a JPY 14.8 billion year-on-year increase. The impacts from the application of new revenue recognition accounting standards are as shown in the right-hand column. This slide shows results for the last 4 years from pre-pandemic fiscal year 2019 to the present.

All profit lines from operating profit down were slightly below the results for fiscal year 2019, but all profit lines have shown growth from fiscal year 2020 onward. This slide shows results by segment. 5 businesses posted revenue growth. 6 businesses recorded increased profit or improved profitability. Now I'll explain the situation with each business, starting with the GMS business.

The graph on the left shows segment profit from pre-pandemic fiscal year 2019 to the present. The GMS business has achieved a V-shape recovery, returning from a loss of JPY 2 billion in fiscal year 2021 to post a profit of JPY 14 billion, surpassing even pre-pandemic levels. The graph on the top right shows the breakdown of the profitability improvement by adding and subtracting operating profit for each of the segment's companies. AEON Retail made the largest contribution to the profitability improvement by returning to the black with an operating profit of JPY 14.3 billion.

The table in the lower center shows year-on-year comparisons of sales by GMS product category. As COVID-19 restrictions eased in the fourth quarter, there was a powerful sales recovery trend, especially for apparel. Food sales remained strong throughout the fiscal year with sales increasing as a result of the top value price freeze and the introduction of value-added products in response to a polarization of consumer demand. AEON Retail positioned fiscal year 2022 as a year for transitioning to a growth trajectory.

It worked to maximize gross profit while carrying out reforms to establish an earnings structure able to withstand rising costs. This enabled it to post JPY 5.7 billion operating profit by fending off an increase in utility costs of roughly JPY 10 billion, boosting gross profit and keeping SG&A expenses under control. The JPY 14.3 billion year-on-year profitability improvement brought AEON Retail back into the black, surpassing pre-pandemic results.

To maximize gross profit based on an improvement in gross profit margin through sales expansion at top value in the food business, AEON Retail introduced the AI pricing system, AI kakaku to calculate appropriate food product prices and reduce markdown amount. In 2023, AEON Retail also plans to introduce an automated AI ordering system. In the apparel business, the sales ratio of full price BARREAL items was also boosted through efforts such as having earlier sales launches for each season in order to accelerate seasonal sales peaks and the apparel gross profit margin increased by 1.7 percentage points.

As a result of such efforts, sales and gross profit margins were both up year-on-year. And as shown in the lower left graph, gross profit was JPY 13.1 billion, a substantial increase. With regard to cost control, AEON Retail has been working since 2020 on structural reforms focused on enhancing productivity through digital transformation initiatives and reducing inventory and fixed costs. AEON Retail has kept inventory down to close to an optimal level since the end of fiscal year 2021, generating about JPY 45 billion in cash by shortening the cash conversion cycle.

This has also helped improve cash flow. With regard to fixed costs, AEON Retail has also been controlling SG&A expenses by reducing electricity costs through power saving measures and cutting other costs. With regard to digital transformation initiatives, AEON Retail is rolling out productivity boosting equipment to all stores and focusing on improving productivity in cash register related activities which account for 20% to 30% of store personnel expenses.

In fiscal year 2022, AEON Retail reduced labor hours by approximately 1.6 million hours and reallocated these to growth areas such as online supermarket services, thereby accelerating its transition to a growth trajectory. Next, the supermarket business. As shown on the left, segment operating profit for the supermarket business was down. The waterfall graph on the right shows the operating profitability performance by company.

As you can see, there was a profit boost of JPY 6 billion from the consolidation of Fuji in fiscal year 2022. However, Maxvalu Nishinihon, Maxvalu Tokai, Maruetsu, KASUMI and Daiei all recorded decreased profits. Factors behind profit decreases at each company includes sales falling below the previous fiscal year's results due to stagnant customer traffic trends, soaring procurement costs, particularly for fresh produce, leading to decreased gross profit margins and increased SG&A expenses due to rising electricity costs.

Sales have been recovering since bottoming out in the second quarter, as shown in the graph in the lower center. Efforts to grow sales by leveraging Topvalu price edge led to a recovery in sales and customer traffic in the second half, as you can see. In the fourth quarter, operating profitability began to improve as SG&A expenses began to decline as shown in the graph on the lower right.

Now the discount store business. Amid the ongoing price increases for many essential goods and services and growing consumer frugality, the discount store business enjoyed a tailwind. While the segment's operating profit for fiscal year 2022 didn't reach the result for fiscal year 2020 when there was a surge in dine-in demand due to the pandemic, it did increase by JPY 900 million year-on-year to JPY 3.6 billion. As the upward pressure on raw materials prices and distribution costs built, the segment bolstered the development of new Topvalu products and new private brands exclusive to the DS business to meet customer demand for low-priced products.

It also stepped up efforts to reduce costs from manufacturing through to retail with measures such as distribution and in-store display of products on pallets. It also introduced new sales method such as by the case sales and product bundling to further strengthen pricing appeal for customers and boost sales volume. As shown in the graph on the upper right, these efforts led to profit growth through increased spending per customer and significantly increased sales of Topvalu products, which have a high markup ratio.

Next, the Health and Wellness business. Segment revenue increased due to moves to secure product inventory early on in response to expanding demand for PCR tests and other tests, antigen testing kits, antipyretics, hay fever countermeasures and cosmetics with the spread of COVID-19 and the later increase in opportunities to go on outings.

Segment profit reached a record high of JPY 44.8 billion. Prescription drug sales increased despite the impact of national health care fee revisions as the number of drugstores able to process prescriptions and the number of prescriptions filled both increased. Sales of nonmedical products have been strong since January with brisk cosmetics sales amid increased opportunities to go on outings and signs of recovery in demand from overseas visitors to Japan as each country's COVID-19 restrictions eased. This segment is proactively pursuing new store openings and M&A to consolidate its position as the #1 player in Japan's drugstore industry and will continue with the steady implementation of its growth strategy.

Next, the Financial Services business. Overseas operating profit reached an all-time high, with results exceeding pre-pandemic levels in China and our ASEAN markets. In response to the recovery in demand as COVID-19 cases declined, the segment worked in transaction volume expansion measures, resulting in transaction volume growth exceeding that of fiscal year 2021 and pre-pandemic fiscal year 2019. As operating receivables grew, the segment moved to bolster its screening and receivables management systems, thereby keeping the ratio of doubtful accounts within the normal range.

In Japan, credit card shopping transaction volume reached a record high for the second consecutive year. With the recovery in demand, the segment eased its credit standards and cash advanced transaction volume increased by 8% year-on-year. Segment profit declined, however, as revenue from the securitization of receivables decreased by JPY 4.3 billion year-on-year due to factors such as rising interest rates while point program and sales promotion expenses increased by JPY 7.3 billion.

Management integration of Aeon Financial Service and Aeon Credit Service is scheduled for June 1. The companies will aim to further boost earnings by drawing on integration synergies as Aeon Financial Group. Next, the Shopping Center Development Business. Segment profits were up year-on-year despite sluggish consumption in Japan as people refrained from outings and temporary closures in China due to stringent restrictions on activities based on the zero COVID policy.

As the graph in the upper right shows, the ASEAN region has entered the post pandemic phase and with malls becoming increasingly popular as leisure facilities, particularly in Vietnam. Business in ASEAN markets contributed significantly to the profit increase in our international development business. A delay in the recovery of malls in Japan meant they struggled in the first half, as shown in the graph in the lower right, but tenant sales in Japan have recovered and results for February exceeded pre-pandemic fiscal year 2019 results.

Now the Services and Specialty Store Business. Segment operating profitability improved by over JPY 13 billion as the graph on the upper right shows profit for AEON Fantasy in China was down as some of its stores remained closed through the third quarter due to China's zero COVID policy. AEON Fantasy in Japan and ASEAN and AEON Entertainment were all constrained by restrictions on outings and business activities in fiscal year 2021, but saw increased revenue and profit growth as customer traffic recovered.

Repeated COVID-19 waves in fiscal year 2022 caused operational constraints and impacted customer drawing power and many companies are yet to recover to the level of their fiscal year 2019 operating profit results. In fiscal year 2023, the segment expects to recover to pre-pandemic profit levels by meeting customers emerging post-pandemic needs.

Lastly, the international business. Segment profit was JPY 12.8 billion, up JPY 7.2 billion, a significant increase. AEON Vietnam sales growth was particularly substantial with tenant sales and GMS business and Supermarket business sales, up considerably as the impact of the pandemic waned. Operating profit was also up JPY 3.5 billion year-on-year with the implementation of digital transformation initiatives, ended operational efficiency enhancement and cost reductions.

AEON Malaysia enjoyed increased customer traffic as the movement of people to and from Singapore grew following the border reopening. And all product categories saw revenue growth while operating profit increased by JPY 2.3 billion to JPY 9.1 billion. AEON Cambodia implemented product reforms, improved its gross profit margin turned to the black and achieved record high operating profit.

AEON Indonesia also achieved record high operating profit as profitability improved and customer traffic recovered with the easing of pandemic restrictions.

Although the pandemic continued to impact some regions in China, 5 companies, including AEON Hong Kong saw increased revenue and profit or profitability improvements. Sales have recently been recovering steadily since the lifting of the zero COVID policy.

Now I'll brief you on our fiscal year 2023 forecast. This slide shows assumptions for our fiscal year 2023 consolidated performance forecast. We assume rising electricity and wage costs will be 2 major factors impacting fiscal year 2023 results. Electricity costs in fiscal year 2022 were up roughly JPY 60 billion year-on-year. Although energy prices and exchange rates have both recently stabilized somewhat, we still expect a total year-on-year increase of about JPY 30 billion for fiscal year 2023. We view personnel expenses as an investment in the future and have announced a 5% pay increase for full-time employees and a 7% hourly wage increase for part-time employees.

We're expecting a personnel expense increase of approximately JPY 50 billion, including normal increases. Instead of simply resigning ourselves to these cost increases, we will proactively invest in energy conservation and generation, bolster efforts to cut costs and streamline and work to enhance productivity through personnel training and digital transformation initiatives. This is our forecast for fiscal year 2023.

For fiscal year 2023, we forecast operating revenue of JPY 9.4 trillion, operating profit of JPY 220 billion, ordinary profit of JPY 210 billion and profit attributable to owners of the parent of JPY 25 billion. Our forecast figures for fiscal year 2023 are expressed as single figures instead of as ranges. We factored in the upside risk of cost increases and the figures are, therefore, somewhat conservative. Although we haven't disclosed forecast by segment, we are targeting increased profits in all of them.

Next, our investment plans. In fiscal year 2022, ongoing COVID-19 waves caused slight delays in legal procedures for overseas store openings. As a result of a thorough ongoing evaluation of investment returns and cost control based on profit performance, we spent slightly less on capital expenditures than planned. The percentage we invest in digital logistics has increased to 30% of the total. In fiscal year 2023, we are planning to invest around JPY 400 billion to JPY 450 billion in total.

We'll pursue growth investment while taking into account the balance between investment returns and cash flow. And finally, the dividend forecast. In line with our stable dividend payment policy, we are planning to pay an annual dividend of JPY 36 per share, the same as in fiscal year 2022. That concludes my briefing. Thank you very much. I will now present the progress we made during the second year of our medium-term management plan, which we began implementing in fiscal year 2021.

For starters, I'd like to briefly present our responses to the events and circumstances that challenged us during the past fiscal year. The first key event of the year was Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has created the crude oil supply and demand imbalance, causing a tightening of electric power supply and demand that led to large increases in electric power rates. We responded by implementing power saving measures throughout our nationwide network of some 10,000 stores of various store formats and bringing forward energy-saving investments in refrigerated cases and LED lighting. We also improved the productivity of store operations by advancing the digitalization of cash registers and back office operations while also implementing group-wide cost controls.

As a result, we were able to keep SG&A expenses within the plan and offset costs in other areas. Having laid the foundations for cost reductions and productivity improvements in February 2023, we announced that we would be advancing our investment in human resources by raising the wages of store employees. Fiscal year 2022 was also characterized by sharp rises in prices owing to soaring prices of raw materials and energy and the most severe depreciation of the yen in 32 years.

Every day, we were besieged by news about rising product prices. For those of us who have become accustomed to the deflationary economy that has prevailed for many years, and for our store operations that have not had to deal with inflation, the past year fueled us with an unprecedented sense of bipolarization and awareness of consumers' focus on protecting their current living standards. We responded by providing products that support customers' efforts to preserve their living standards.

First, by declaring a price freeze on our Topvalu products and then by expanding our private brand initiative. The wide media coverage that our efforts received during the year has greatly increased awareness of the group's Topvalu private brand. As a result, sales of our Topvalu products were 10% greater than in fiscal year 2021, continuing their steady upward trend. We believe this is the result of the start up of a virtuous cycle in which our efforts to provide customers with opportunities to try our Topvalu products, turn them into Topvalu fans, who continue to purchase the products.

Since the end of fiscal year 2019, we have endured a number of waves of COVID-19 pandemic infections that forced various changes in people's activities. However, all restrictions on people's activities have been lifted since the subsiding of the eighth wave that peaked in late December in shopping centers, which were most severely affected by those restrictions have seen activity return to pre-pandemic levels. With inbound demand returning, we look for people's consumption activities and customer traffic to become even more lively in the months ahead.

Looking back on the past year and the many unexpected events and circumstances we faced has made us even more aware of the importance of speedy management decisions and action. Furthermore, our use of energy saving investments and other energy-saving initiatives to thoroughly control costs and our full flagship to private brand products have led us to abandon some entrenched concepts and provided an opportunity to reconsider our business with a sense of urgency.

Here, I would like to discuss the performance of each business segment under these circumstances. Comparisons of operating profit trends with pre-COVID-19 in fiscal year 2019 can be separated into 2 groups: retail businesses in one group and our nonretail service, financial and developer businesses in the other group. The pandemic actually provided a tailwind for retail business growth. And while settling down a bit as the pandemic subsides, operating profit in fiscal year 2022 remained above pre-COVID levels.

On the other hand, our nonretail businesses, which were our top earners before COVID suffered from a decrease in customer numbers during the pandemic. However, as we shift to live with COVID, our nonretail businesses are recovering steadily, and have recently returned to just one step below pre-COVID levels. To maintain momentum in our retail business, where recent growth has been driven by the COVID-19 tailwind, we will continue to actively implement structural reform measures, including strengthening our private brand to achieve top line growth, improving gross profit and advancing the use of digital technology to enhance productivity.

In addition, the retail business will continue expanding its investment in energy saving measures, they were moved up ahead of schedule last year and worked to achieve positive results from that investment. This, combined with our non-retail businesses, which are recovering from COVID-19's negative impact on customer numbers is expected to boost the operating profit of the entire group.

Using this diverse yet complementary business portfolio, we will continue to promote growth strategies that respond to changes in our operating environment. AEON has placed importance on the environment and social contributions long before the broader recognition of the importance of ESG. Our contributions are guided by the AEON basic principles of pursuing peace, respecting humanity and contributing to local communities with the customer's point of view as its core.

Based on the Aeon principles that retail is an industry to promote peace, we have expressed our opposition to all wars and implemented the Aeon fundraising to rescue children in Ukraine less than 2 weeks after the war began. The campaign was met with a strong response from our customers, who donated a total of JPY 466.65 million. That donation was matched by AEON and our AEON 1% Club foundation, bringing the total amount raised to more than JPY 930 million, which we have donated to the Japan Committee for UNICEF. We also are engaged in activities to nurture and support the next generation that will support society in the future.

In addition to raising funds to support children's cafeterias nationwide, we are working with local children's support organizations and companies to establish sites that disseminate information and hold food drives. Next, allow me to introduce one of our initiatives targeting the realization of a decarbonized society, a goal that is aligned with our belief that the retail industry is rooted in local communities.

In September, AEON Mall launched its town Power Plant program, an initiative that seeks to supply electricity generated at 740 solar power plants across Japan to AEON Malls. Renewable energy generated in a certain area will be used to provide the electric power needed to operate the AEON Mall in that area. AEON Mall aims to operate all its malls and 100% locally generated renewable energy by 2040.

Today, I've introduced just a few examples of last fiscal year's environmental and social contribution initiatives. This year and in the future, we will continue our efforts to contribute to the realization of prosperous and sustainable local communities by promoting various initiatives that can be implemented only by maintaining close contact with local residents.

Next, I would like to report on the progress of initiatives being implemented during the second year of our current medium-term management plan. Due to time constraints, however, I would like to focus on 3 subjects included in the growth strategy shown in today's slide presentation, our products, Asia and especially ASEAN and AEON Retail.

We continue to place great importance on our digital shift, but I will not comment on that today as we cover that topic the other day in our press conference on Green Beans, our warehouse type online supermarket. I will first talk about our private brand products. We consider private brands to be the most important element in our medium-term plan. I would like to focus my comments today on our Topvalu brand. The value provided by private brand products is shifting from the conventional concept of low-priced products similar to national brands to products that represent corporate philosophies and our source of differentiation and competitive advantage.

This trend is accelerating in all store formats, product categories and in the brick-and-mortar as well as the digital sales channels. The success or failure of a retailer's private brand products will significantly impact the company's management. This slide shows the trend in private brand sales in the United States in 2022. Private brand sales reached an all-time high equivalent to JPY 31 trillion, and their sales growth rate was more than double that of national brands.

I believe this data indicates that so-called private brands have become common, well-established products that have won consumer acceptance. I believe this trend can also be seen in Japan. We have been developing private brand products for about 50 years now, and our products are demonstrating competitive advantages generated by the know-how accumulated over that time. Looking forward, we expect our private brand products to generate huge business opportunities.

This slide shows the results of our data analysis teams examination of changes in customer purchasing behavior since we announced the price freeze on our Topvalu products. The point I would like to draw attention to here is that 1/3 of customers who had not previously purchased Topvalu products have begun to purchase them since the price freeze was announced. As a result, 90% of our customers have now purchased at least 1 Topvalu product. Going forward, we expect Topvalu products to account for a growing share of the total products purchased at our stores.

We believe the price freeze created greater opportunities for people to try our Topvalu products and come into contact with AEON. In other words, products are the key to growing the customer base. This slide introduces our Topvalu premium draft beer, which was first marketed in March last year and the low malt bear BARREAL GRAND, a new Topvalu best price item that we launched this March.

Topvalu premium draft beer, the development of which focused on creating a highly tasty beer begin the top selling beer in our premium beer category in terms of all the sales value and the number of units sold in fiscal year 2022. Customer support for the beer has exceeded that for national brands, which we think is proof that our product development capabilities are being recognized by our customers.

Meanwhile, BARREAL GRAND, a new offering in our price appealing best price category, sold 3 million units in the first month after its release, making it our best selling low malt beer. These low-priced Topvalu products are now beginning to contribute significantly to profit margin improvement. In addition to best price category products that appeal to customers seeking low prices, we are now strengthening our development of Topvalu products with strong value appeal. In addition to you satisfying diverse customer needs, we want to develop private brand products with higher gross profit margins that will improve our overall profit margin.

We also placed great importance on green transformation initiatives based on our products. We have been developing products such as organic and sustainable products that contribute to a sustainable society for many years. For example, our Topvalu Gurinai, which is an organic and eco-friendly category is now in its 30th year. One example of this effort is the development of products that contribute to the environment simply by customers using them.

A specific example is our bottle-to-bottle initiative. PET bottles collected from customers at our AEON stores are recycled and used to make new products. This initiative has reduced the production of fossil-derived virgin plastic by about 350 tonnes per year. We are also collaborating with local communities to develop new products. An example is our Gurinai private brands, organic vegetables provided by local agricultural cooperatives in Aya Town, Miyazaki prefecture that have been brought together in our Aya Town, AEON Forest project. These products are private brand products developed together with a local community.

It is said that highly environmentally conscious millennials and generation Z will account for half of personal consumption in 2025. We regard this global rise in green awareness is our greatest business opportunity, and we plan to make full use of the know-how accumulated to date to create new markets that will tap into this demand. This brings repositioning of our Topvalu lineup has made it an easier to understand framework. Branding has been clearly delineated with best priced products appealing to customers price sensitivity, Topvalu products appealing to customers seeking the best value and Gurinai products responding to consumers' environmental consciousness.

In fiscal year 2022, total private brand sales came to about JPY 1.3 trillion, with Topvalu products accounting for JPY 900 billion of that total. That result has us on track to achieve our medium-term management plan target of JPY 2 trillion in private brand sales in fiscal year 2025. Private brand sales are at the core of our product strategy in fiscal year 2023. When we aim to boost total private brand sales to JPY 1.5 trillion and Topvalu sales to JPY 1 trillion.

Turning to our international business initiatives. This slide shows a graph of the IMF index long-term GDP forecast. Although the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily slowed growth, the IMF after COVID GDP estimates show GDPs rebounding and then expanding rather sharply. Asia will be a very attractive market for us. Foreign direct investment in China remains strong even during the pandemic. And in ASEAN, it has recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

Infrastructure investment by companies is expected to expand in the future. In particular, the increase in power generation in Vietnam clearly shows that the country is rebounding strongly from the pandemic, and it remains the priority country for AEON. Next, let's look at our overseas business. The graph on the left shows that our operating revenue in China and ASEAN grew faster than GDP in those 2 markets in fiscal year 2022 with growth in ASEAN, particularly strong.

Looking at individual countries in the ASEAN region, our operating revenue growth was strongest in Vietnam, and we believe we have entered a new growth stage in that country. I would like to introduce some of our initiatives in Vietnam. We are focusing on private brands and have launched MY CLOSET, a new clothing brand targeting young women, which is doing very well. By developing ASEAN original private brands and opening our own SBA-type specialty stores, we are rapidly improving gross margins and increasing profitability.

AEON Vietnam achieved a JPY 3.5 billion year-on-year increase in operating profit in fiscal year 2022. The company is leveraging the diverse businesses of the AEON Group and promoting store openings and development strategies based on a multi-format approach. In 2024, AEON Mall is planning to open AEON Mall Hue, it's first mall in Central Vietnam. In addition to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Aeon Mall plans to open the stores throughout Vietnam as it aims for true localization. I would now like to return today's presentation to Japan.

Mr. Egawa touched on the performance of our general merchandise store business during his presentation of our business results, and I would like to add some information about AEON Retail, which we turned to the black for the first time in 3 years. AEON Retail has positioned the 3 years starting from fiscal year 2020 as a revival period in its efforts to lower product inventories, reduce price markdown frequency and expand online supermarket operations have propelled the recovery in its retail business that has contributed significantly to its return to the black in fiscal year 2022.

On the product side, in addition to the strengthening of our private brands, which supports steady sales of AEON Retail's food products, recoveries in its high-margin nonfood businesses, such as apparel and health and beauty care have contributed directly to improved retail business profit. On the cost front, AEON Retail is aggressively implementing various reforms, including expanding digitalization at its stores, cash registered reforms and back office reforms. These measures are creating a leaner operating structure that is better able to withstand cost impacts.

Aeon Retail's efforts enable it to offset the downward pressure on its profits from utility expenses rising to about JPY 10 billion and achieved an operating profit of JPY 5.7 billion in fiscal year 2022. We believe AEON Retail's revival plan has improved its cost structure and established a foundation for stable business operations. From a top line perspective, AEON Retail will continue to develop store formats that are best aligned with the special characteristics of the local community. A good example is the new AEON Tenno-cho shopping center in Yokohama City, which is generating good results after a scrap-and-build renovation of a previously existing store.

The sales floor design differs from those used to date and promotes a more integrated shopping experience that transcends individual sales floor zones. For example, the sporting goods section, a fitness gym and sports shoe sales area, all are located in the same zone, do facilitate use by health conscious customers. We are also integrating in-store shopping with online shopping with in-store promotions, introducing customers to our online supermarkets and vice versa. As a result, we have increased customer contact points and began offering high-priced products for celebrated vacations to customers in our online supermarket, which previously focused mainly on daily use items.

The result of these customers are using our online supermarket more often. We see our general merchandising stores as facilities that not only provide products and services to meet various lifestyle needs, but also serve as a place for people to gather and feel a sensitive community. Our stores therefore need to be a collection of product and service categories that fit the unique needs and characteristics of the communities they serve.

Toward that end, we believe each product and service category and the sales floor must be highly specialized and able to operate autonomously. We, therefore, place great importance on assembling the products and services that meet regional needs and fit the lifestyles of local consumers. The same philosophy applies to our business channels. Accordingly, we are implementing OMO, online merges with offline, an initiative that seamlessly integrates our stores with our digital business.

This initiative will provide customers with a full lineup of products and services in stores and online and will turn our general merchandising stores in the places where regional customers feel their lifestyles are being enriched. In fiscal year 2023, we will continue to advance our growth strategy based on the 5 reforms and the green transformation strategy set forth in our medium-term management plan. Leveraging the scale merits of the AEON Group, we will accelerate large-scale investments in store digitalization, private brand development, energy saving and energy generation equipment and other investments that will contribute to sustainable growth in the future. Thank you for your considerate attention today.

[Unknown Analyst]

As we move beyond the pandemic, what do you think is needed the most to build momentum for the next stage of growth or to achieve a V-shaped recovery in non-retail businesses.

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

There are 2 things: as sales channels continue to diversify dramatically, our product appeal is ultimately the same thing as corporate strength. If a customer can buy the same product from any channel available to them, they'll choose the cheapest option. The key is whether we can use our private brands to make products with unique value that are only available through their own channel. It's good to see that the continued instructions for pricing ahead with a focus on products, no matter what during the pandemic are now taking shape.

On the other hand, our malls and other nonretail businesses that leverage a business model of recouping an upfront investment lost all momentum during the pandemic. As all of our malls were focal points in the community, customer traffic to them has been recovering sharply since March in inverse proportion to the number of COVID-19 cases. Given that customers are now looking for things to return to normal, we need to make sure that AEON Malls can offer experiences that are even better than before the pandemic.

The other thing is the enrichment of real communities. Somewhat sizable facilities like AEON Towns and AEON Malls are needed as infrastructure in the community because there are places where people can connect with each other. So this too is an aspect we intend to focus on.

[Unknown Analyst]

My question is about your views on realignment and structural reforms within and outside of the group and M&As. Going by the retail industry environment, I think structural reforms and tie-ups inside and outside the group will continue up ahead. What must Aeon focus its attention on? Also, do you intend to actively bring other companies into the group?

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

Counteracting rising expenses such as electricity costs is difficult for companies that lack the necessary scale. Investments in digitalization can also be absorbed by scale. I think corporations that don't have scale band together to some degree. We, too, would be heavily burdened by expenses if we didn't forge alliances with like-minded companies.

The same applies to our private brands. Without a certain degree of scale, we would struggle to absorb costs and develop products with a considerable markup. We're very glad that we established a joint venture between Welcia and AEON KYUSHU. Sales so far exceeded expectations due to the benefits of creating 1 group for operations previously spread across 2 groups when the test store was set up. We must steadily pursue room for growth by combining formats within the group and merging brick-and-mortar and online channels.

Outside of the group, too, we will actively consider mergers if we have common goals.

[Unknown Analyst]

In light of factors such as changing lifestyles and manufacturer price hikes, what do you think the consumption environment will look like 1 year from now?

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

Our impression of the situation has changed significantly since the start of the year when we thought consumption was going to grow harsher because of inflation, we currently don't hold a negative view of the consumption environment.

People are now starting to buy products that they didn't buy during COVID-19. They are also purchasing goods in order to do things they couldn't do during the pandemic. In particular, apparel sales are brisk and suitable for 2 night trips in Japan are selling extremely well.

Demand for business suits is also growing because meetings are being held again. I don't think this can be called revenge consumption, but we feel the demand is outstripping inflationary pressure. Apparel sales were really solid in March and April. Online growth has slowed somewhat but we think demand will increase as it is because buying behavior is shifting to online channels. We think we will need to make preparations so that we can respond to a positive consumption environment.

[Unknown Analyst]

It seems that you have intentions to nurture young customers to underpin AEON's operations 5 or 10 years from now, mainly with the Green Beans online supermarket and the Topvalu brand. What specific measures are you taking?

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

It's nice to hear that you've noticed our conscious targeting of younger customers. Singers and models who are popular among young people have appeared in recent TV commercials for the Topvalu brand. Unless we attract young customers, it will be difficult to secure customer traffic in the future, which is why we need to take steps now.

The online channel is also very important. And with the Green Bean site, we have dared to target the greater Tokyo area. After confirming the identification of customers, we plan to engage in cross-selling. AEON Financial could also make lifestyle proposals to the young customer demographic. We are attaching a great deal of importance to the young customer segment as a new customer base.

[Unknown Analyst]

I felt there will be a significant increase in electricity costs. but our fiscal year 2025 operating profit target of JPY 380 billion in the medium-term management plan is a big jump from the fiscal year 2023 target of JPY 220 billion in the third year of the plan. Was there any talk of revising it given the changing environment? What were the reasons behind the decision to leave it intact.

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

We sense that a bit of a gap is emerging with a medium-term management plan, which we formulated before the pandemic. The current numbers indicate that sales are in line with or slightly above the plan but profit is tracking below the plan. Some components that were not factored into the medium-term management plan at all, such as slightly lower-than-expected gross profit and AEON Mall closures during the pandemic have emerged while considerably higher electricity costs are also a factor.

Instead of making a decision right away, we will need to see how things pan out for a while. As sales are in line with the plan, we will closely monitor expenses and the recovery in nonretail and overseas businesses before making any decisions. In previous medium-term management plans, there was a large divergence between the target and the actual result, but no reviews were really carried out. I'm not saying that the target should be quickly changed. But when the circumstances are well understood, I'd like to see no deviation between the company's viewpoint and that of the market.

If sales were far below our target, then the going would be tough. But customer traffic is healthy and sales are being maintained. We hope to improve gross profit by raising the private brand waiting.

[Unknown Analyst]

After AEON announced that it would invest in human resources and lived wages, there were broader signs of wage growth among mid-tier firms and SMEs. What are the advantages for AEON if wage growth leads to demand pull inflation? Can we expect the entire AEON group to be buoyed by moderate inflation in the macro environment as wages increase?

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

Daily needs account for a large portion of our product mix. So our sales will take a negative hit if inflation made it difficult for people to buy daily necessities. However, the positive impact would be extremely significant if the economy picked up overall. So we would have to approach our customers to ensure that the benefits can be reaped. As for investments in human resources, we decided to lift wages by 7%, not for our employees, but for the part timers that work in our stores to support their families financially.

We announced this policy one month before the usual spring wage negotiations to send a message to the market. According to direct accounts from our store managers, there has been an increase in the number of applicants thus making it easier for us to employ high-caliber workers.

[Unknown Analyst]

How do you rate your fiscal year 2022 earnings and what issues need addressing? As fiscal year 2023 is the third year of the medium-term management plan. What stage do you think you're currently at? And how do you intend to drive earnings going forward?

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

Results were around the lower limit of our guidance range. So they weren't entirely satisfactory, but utility costs rose month-on-month to as high as a 60% increase in the fourth quarter. Even still, our business sides took timely action to keep SG&A expenses tightly within budget. That said, gross profit was beyond our margin of error. From a management perspective, the measures implemented were, by and large, successful, but financial results weren't in line with our forecast.

So I think that's a failure. We put together the medium-term management plan with a big focus on strengthening the overseas business. But the series of strict lockdowns overseas meant we were unable to make the desired progress, particularly in China, even though the situation is mostly back to normal there. We suffered right to the end because of the zero COVID-19 policy. Everyone is aware of what we need to do now. So this year with the pandemic coming to an end is the time to deliver results.

[Unknown Analyst]

The GMS business has recovered, but the supermarket business appears to be weakening centering on the urban stores. What are your thoughts on structurally reforming this business?

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

The supermarket business model uses electricity to run freezer cases and refrigerators. So obviously, earnings will struggle if electricity costs go up. It is also a labor-intensive business. So realizing the opposite is key, self-checkout systems are beneficial so we will continue to roll them out at stores. We will also boldly bring forward capital investments using the latest fridge freezer cases can reduce power costs by roughly 30%. We will start to see the benefits in real numbers if we decisively invest in energy savings from the earliest possible time.

[Unknown Analyst]

For our top line, we can't secure enough markup unless it is through our private brands. So we need to have a product mix with a higher weighting of private brands. What do you think will be the drivers of future growth in the domestic AEON Retail business?

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

AEON Retail has a cost structure that is fairly lean and robust. The food category is generating steady earnings. One key point is how we go about overhauling apparel and home furnishing products as an area with growth potential. Another key point is online expansion. The customer traffic in our retail format is mainly centered on food. So the key is how to tap into the online needs of customers with an OMO, online merges with offline, approach.

Looking at the data, a comparison of customers that only use brick-and-mortar stores and customers that use both online and brick-and-mortar stores show that the latter group spends much more on food over a 12-month period. brick-and-mortar store sales don't flow to the online channel. Instead, customers do a lot of purchasing using either channel.

With the second issue of generating a little more revenue from the online channel, we are implementing a policy spearheaded by AEON Retail President, Takemi Ide.

[Unknown Analyst]

In the Vietnam business, which is performing particularly well, I understand that sales of mainly our private brands and apparel items to young women are quite brisk. What customer segments, products and new retail formats do you envisage going forward?

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

In Vietnam, we believe there to be business opportunities in various situations. AEON Malls will be at the center of communities, but we are also really ramping up the pace of small supermarket openings. Starting this summer, we will also launch in earnest an online supermarket business. All the businesses we have yet to start in Vietnam will proceed and the average age in Vietnam is around 30, an age of which many people come to own a home. So we think there are great opportunities in furniture and other home fashion products. That is why we have started to set up our HOME COORDY business there. Sales are extremely brisk and there is value in the brand name because AEON has somewhat of a strong presence in Vietnam. The same can be said about Topvalu under garments. They're expensive for the Vietnamese, but they're selling really well.

AEON's presence has given us some leverage there. The younger generation will soon be having children. So we see business opportunities in opening Kids Republic shops, which we currently operate in Japan. We will invest in human resources and station people there to achieve these aims.

[Unknown Analyst]

Could you go into more detail about the AI pricing system, AI Kakaku that successfully got earnings back in the black at AEON retail. Also, could you tell us about the AI order system that you have plans for?

[四方 基之, executive]

AI kakaku uses AI to determine the optimal time for reducing the selling price of particularly delicatessen. Products in operation that up until now had dependent on a person's intuition, optimizing the timing of changes in sale prices leads to improvements in gross profit. Meanwhile, the AI order system leverages AI to create the volumes and portions needed.

[Unknown Analyst]

What measures have you implemented thus far to address the so-called 2024 problem in logistics? And what approach will you adopt going forward?

[四方 基之, executive]

We continue to reduce and streamline logistics costs, all the while conducting a number of demonstration tests. A typical example is AEON KYUSHU where we combine distribution operations for GMS and Maxvalu supermarkets. The distribution lines here there to use for the general merchandise stores, supermarkets and each retail format were unified and streamlined in each region, not for each retail format. In other areas, too, we are pricing ahead with demonstration tests so that we can expand this system.

[Unknown Analyst]

For the increase in personnel expenses, including the 7% hike in base pay you factored in an impact of JPY 50 billion into your forecast. But how much of this figure is for AEON Retail?

[江川 敬明, executive]

The increase from the base pay hike is around JPY 10 billion for AEON Retail.

[Unknown Analyst]

How is the market currently responding to the Topvalu brand? And what have sales been like for the value-added type and price appeal type products?

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

At the third quarter results briefing, I mentioned that sales for the series of Topvalu brand ready-made dishes, supervised by first-class chefs and premium beer were extremely brisk. Premium beer is now the top-selling product in the AEON Group's premium category. In March, we simultaneously released 11 different types of chunky soups, mainly for younger customers. We used to launch Topvalu products as single items.

But going forward, with the aim of having customers base their selections on product categories, we will look to communicate the value of our products to customers by releasing price appeal-type products in groups and running TV commercials and other such promotions when they go on sale.

Thanks to the support of our customers, sales of these price appeal-type products also remain firm. We feel that Topvalu is now being accepted as a brand, especially after seeing the customers trying to value products after we announced the price freeze are choosing the red mainstream line, not just the yellow best price series.

[Unknown Analyst]

You've said that you're targeting online sales of JPY 1 trillion in 2025 as part of your digital strategy. What kind of progress have you made?

[四方 基之, executive]

In 2022, online supermarket and other e-commerce sales came to JPY 140 billion, up 10% from the previous year. Online Supermarket sales grew, in particular, so we intend to further expand on this. We have currently yet to fully expand our food touch point into e-commerce, apparel and home furnishing products. We plan to utilize the iAEON app that we launched recently to market products to users that log in with the same ID to encourage them to purchase not only food but also clothing and home furnishing products.

[Unknown Analyst]

I understand that the Green Beans channel will be at the very center of this JPY 1 trillion online sales strategy target. But even still, don't you think JPY 1 trillion in sales is unrealistic? Do you plan on reaching JPY 1 trillion with contributions from other areas? Or are you preparing to shoot a second arrow after Green Beans?

[四方 基之, executive]

We don't think we can achieve JPY 1 trillion in sales solely from Green Beans, which is an online supermarket. As we work towards 2025. Our first customer fulfillment center will finally start operation this year. So the weighting as a percentage of JPY 1 trillion is not that large. Basically, we will keep expanding online sales centering on the online supermarket business and e-commerce and leverage our strengths as a conglomerate to pursue various digital initiatives.

One example is how Aeon Financial has acquired a digital banking license in Malaysia to make it easier for local customers to access banking services and enable people from all walks of life to utilize AEON services. .

[Unknown Analyst]

We understand that the next issues for the GMS business where sales of food have stabilized or apparel and non-retail. What progress have we made on your sales target for full-price items, what is your outlook going forward?

[Akio Yoshida, executive]

I think we've made pretty good progress on apparel. When inventories were squeezed thin, we became more watchful of products, which help curb losses on price reductions. You could also say that it's easier for customers to choose products and a well-organized sales floor. There is also talk of reorganizing our basic apparel line, which is the most profitable and rebuilding our general goods offerings, including banks.

While it may be because of demand for so-called revenge spending in the wake of the pandemic, apparel sales are now in good shape. This trend looks to continue in the first half of this year. Another factor is that we have adopted a system to provide dependable customer service on our sales floors. When we had a lot of stock, employees were busy bringing items in and out of the back rooms or attaching reduced price tags to products. But as we reduce inventory, staff are becoming able to allocate a bit more time to customer service. Also, if we can greatly improve gross profit, I think we will be able to fully absorb higher personnel expenses.