To our investors
Top Message
I turned 84 years old this month.As I mentioned in the previous IR Letter, Japan now faces a very difficult time politically and economically.
In my childhood, Japan was still an agricultural and fishing country. But, World War II then transformed it into an industrialized nation tremendously quickly.
In about 1955, when I decided to establish Sanrio Company, Ltd., Japanese manufacturers began to launch TVs, electric refrigerators, electric washing machines, and automobiles, all of which had previously been imported from the U.S., in the domestic market. Through the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games and the 1970 Osaka World Expo, Japan transformed itself and came to be recognized by the world as an industrialized country. Thanks to technical innovation, its products, once considered cheap and inferior, came to be appreciated as "expensive but good" ones.
However, about 50 years later, Japan's position as an industrial country is being threatened by technological advances in South Korea, China, and other Asian countries. These nations are accelerating technical innovation as enthusiastically as Japan once did, or maybe even more so.
In accordance with the trend of the times, Sanrio has created and focused on the character merchandising gift card business that uses our copyrighted characters such as Hello Kitty, aiming to become a company without competition.
And now, to cope with the recent severe situation, we will review personnel, appoint a new management team focusing on reforms, and shift our business model from the conventional gift card business to the specialized licensing business. By doing these things, we will aim to further develop Sanrio.
We must create a business model that can meet consumer needs in countries around the world, unlike the conventional one responding only to Japanese clients. If we fail to do this, I do not think we will be able to expand our business in the future.
We sincerely ask all of our shareholders for your understanding and your strong support of Sanrio's business.
