Top Commitment

By making proactive investments in people and the future, we will accelerate business growth.
We aim to enhance corporate value.

1. Our Group Purpose: Who We Are and What We Stand For

Our group purpose, " Sustainable Growth for More Companies " established in 2023, embodies our strong determination to produce numerous companies that can grow powerfully and sustainably in any era, and for us ourselves to become such a company. While our main consulting clients are small and medium-sized enterprises, their sustainable growth is largely determined by the business owners themselves. As a company that values management methods that put people at the center, we believe that our unique raison d'être lies in being able to provide comprehensive, advanced, and sustainable support to these business owners so that they can achieve success in both their business and their personal lives as business owners (Presidential Success).
Having grown up as the eldest son of a small business owner, I have continuously considered what a "long-term, fulfilling entrepreneurial journey" should look like, with the owner at the very center, since joining the company as a new graduate, and have evolved our business model accordingly. Specifically, we have restructured our consulting business, which was previously mainly aimed at large corporations, into a business model where medium-sized and small businesses can receive full services for a budget roughly equivalent to the salary of one employee. We have also democratized consulting services by supporting the biggest hurdles to achieving results such as improved performance—namely, "empowering the business owner" and "continuing to implement those strategies"—through both a close-knit small-group entrepreneur community and hands-on support.
Furthermore, in order to ensure that our purpose truly permeates and is put into practice by everyone in the group, rather than merely being empty rhetoric, we have named our office Sustainable Growth Square ," the awards we have been holding for many years are now called sustainable growth Company Awards," and we hold more than a dozen Purpose Town Hall meetings every year. We will continue to pursue consistent Initiatives in the medium to long term.
Our group aims to enhance Japan's industrial competitiveness and productivity by producing as many sustainable growth companies as possible, thereby contributing to the creation of a better future.

2.A Business Model for Sustainability and Profitability

As various industry maps and data show, we are already the number one consulting firm in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) category, but our business model differs significantly from that of typical consulting firms. Our core revenue comes from consulting for SME managers, primarily through one-off business seminars targeting management, held 1,516 times a year with over 27,000 participants across various industries and business types. The next step involves membership-based industry-specific and themed Management Workshops , and finally, Monthly Support consulting, allowing clients to progress step-by-step. We consider our membership-based Management Workshops to be particularly central, positioning them as Industry-specific, solution-specific workshops for mid-market and SME proprietors . As of the end of 2024, we have 213 Management Workshops and 7,512 members, forming a community of business owners where they can "build mentors and friends" through the sharing of successful case studies from across the country and information exchange. Our Monthly Support consulting is positioned as Industry-specific, solution-specific on-site “tutoring” for business owners, with specialized industry-specific consulting teams providing practical and highly effective growth implementation support based on successful case studies from across the country. Furthermore, we provide fully customized corporate growth support by addressing various challenges at each stage of the client's development, including recruitment and talent development support, DX and AI support, subsidy acquisition support, and value enhancement support such as IPOs and M&A. In short, we support the realization of president success by accompanying clients from their growth phase to maturity and exit phases over the medium to long term.

3. Another Record Year in 2024

In fiscal year 2024, we made a significant investment and challenge by consolidating our group's Tokyo headquarters in Yaesu. We achieved record-high performance, making great progress toward achieving our medium-term plan and laying the foundation for our next leap forward. Consolidated net Net sales 30,645,050,000 yen (up 8.5% year-on-year), and Operating income was 8,324,170,000 yen (up 14.9% year-on-year). Financials the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, consolidated net Net sales 16,043,900,000 yen (up 11.4% year-on-year), and Operating income was 4,684,290,000 yen (up 11.0% year-on-year), showing steady progress toward achieving our medium-term management plan. In particular, our core management consulting business and logistics business grew by double digits, with both achieving Operating income increases of over 20%. This is due to an increase in the number of consultants to 1,111, exceeding 1,000 for the first time, as well as improved unit prices, resulting in steady Net sales per employee to 9,607 thousand yen (up 7.2%) and Operating income per employee to 2,804 thousand yen (up 6.8%).

4. DX Consulting, Evolving in the AI Age

In 2025, as the final year of our 2023-2025 medium-term management plan, we will accelerate the evolution of our DX consulting services in order to achieve our group vision of becoming a "digital" x "comprehensive" management consulting group primarily focused on small and medium-sized enterprises.
To leverage AI not as a business risk but as a partner for expanding the capabilities of consultants, in November 2024, we provided all approximately 1,500 employees of the group with Google's generative AI, "Gemini for Google We have implemented "Workspace" across the board. This is not only to improve the efficiency of our employees' work, but also to quickly enhance their generative AI literacy, development talent capable of developing and proposing new products and services utilizing AI, and transform ourselves into a consulting firm for the AI era. In order to support our clients' DX and AI implementation, we are first encouraging our group employees to thoroughly utilize generative AI.
Furthermore, in January 2025, ApparelWeb received the "2024 Annual Best Partner" award from Zoho, a global CRM company that is a premium partner, and in October 2025, ApparelWeb received the "Shopify" award from the global e-commerce platform Shopify. Premier We have been certified as a "Partner." By acting as a bridge between these global platform providers and Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises, and by providing implementation support consulting, we are accelerating the adoption of DX and AI by Japanese companies.
Furthermore, in July 2025, Funai Soken Logistics and Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as OKI) concluded a strategic business alliance aimed at promoting logistics DX. Through this alliance, we aim to develop and provide a platform that will support small and medium-sized logistics companies and shippers in regional areas, where labor shortages are particularly severe.
Furthermore, in October 2025 (planned), Funai Consulting India Private will open in Bengaluru, India. We have established Funai Soken India Limited. This is to serve as the global capability center of Funai Soken Group , undertaking development projects and localizing English-language products into Japanese, as well as deepening collaboration with partner companies such as Zoho.

5. Building ¥10-billion-turnover Companies to Lead Japan to a Better Future

Furthermore, 2024 is said to be the first year mid-market leaders in Japan, and development of mid-sized mid-market leaders has become a major theme in the country's key economic policies. From the perspective of increasing the productivity of Japanese companies, which has become a national issue, our focus has shifted from supporting the growth of individual small and medium-sized enterprises in the past to supporting the mass creation of vibrant mid-market leaders that can lead their regions and industries and increase productivity. Companies with Net sales 10 billion yen or more are expected to attract employment and investment to the region and be key to regional revitalization, so we have adopted the sub-message "Let's create 10 billion yen in happiness in the region" for our 10 billion yen enterprise project. We launched the "10 billion yen enterprise project" in 2020, and in the past five years up to the end of 2024, more than 300 client companies have achieved Net sales 10 billion yen.
Furthermore, starting in July 2024, we conducted joint research with the Graduate School of Business Administration at Kobe University, and held the "10 Billion Yen Enterprise Research Public Symposium 2025" to share the results with Society at large. Along with the analysis results on the success conditions necessary for becoming a 10 billion yen enterprise, we aim to further boost the "10 Billion Yen Enterprise Project" by systematically organizing success patterns from both theoretical and practical perspectives.

6. M&A and organizational restructuring will lead to strong growth potential and the acquisition of new capabilities.

In fiscal year 2025, we actively promoted strategic M&A and organizational restructuring to expand the range of solutions we offer to our clients and optimize our service delivery system. To give you a few examples from 2025, first, in January 2025, we established a joint venture company, "Funai Soken Agata FAS," with Agata Global Management Group to strengthen our business succession consulting. Furthermore, in July 2025, "MI Consulting," which specializes in collaborative M&A consulting and due diligence with Financial institutions , joined our group. This has enabled us to provide high-quality M&A and business succession-related services in a one-stop shop.
Furthermore, to strengthen our cutting-edge marketing capabilities, Alma Creation, led by Masanori Kanda, a leading Japanese marketer who has mentored many business leaders, joined the group in January 2025. This move will allow us to share the latest marketing know-how, expand our membership base, and foster a diverse organization through a program supporting development of female executives in collaboration with overseas MBA programs. Then, in April 2025, ApparelWeb, a company specializing in e-commerce and web marketing support primarily for the apparel industry, joined the group. This will expand our digital solution services, as outlined in our medium-term management plan, and strengthen our e-commerce and web marketing capabilities, particularly with regard to Shopify.
In organizational restructuring, we have decided to merge Funai Consulting Inc. and Proceed to strengthen our business structure from fiscal year 2026, aiming to expand our contact center consulting business and strengthen Enterprise Consulting . Furthermore, "HR The Human Capital Management Support Division of "Force" and " Funai Consulting Inc. " will be integrated, and "Funai Research Institute HC (tentative name)" will be established from fiscal year 2026. We will establish a system that can provide one-stop support for recruitment , development , retention, RPO, etc. in the Capital domain, and promote human capital management consulting.

7. Investing in People and Organization for Ongoing Growth

The source of a company's sustainable growth is "people." We view "human resources" as "human capital," the source of value creation, and have made "proactive investment in human resources" a key policy in our medium-term management plan. This is reflected in our relocated and consolidated group Tokyo headquarters, " Sustainable Growth Square which opened in April 2024. Following our investment in "TOKYO," in January 2026, we will relocate our Osaka headquarters to Innogate Osaka, directly connected to JR Osaka Station. We believe that working in a state-of-the-art Environment with better access, alongside our best colleagues and clients, will create a positive cycle that will further enhance our corporate value.
In terms of talent recruitment and development , we welcomed a total of 180 new employees to our group on April 1, 2025. Approximately 70% of our recruitment are new graduates, and a significant characteristic of our company is that one-third of them are individuals whose people from families who run businesses run some kind of business. The main reason why people from families who run businesses join our company is that they can gain practical management experience. Strengthening recruitment recruitment of people from families who run businesses businesses, who have a deep understanding of the management of small and medium-sized enterprises, is a competitive advantage recruitment that sets us apart from our competitors, and it is a major differentiating factor in forming a group of consultants who are trusted by the management of client companies in the consulting field.
In terms of development , we provide not only digital training to keep up with the times, but also basic Society etiquette training including greetings and fundamental manners, on-the-job training (OJT) such as hands-on experience at client companies and shadowing senior employees, and systematic educational programs tailored to different levels and skill levels for early development . Furthermore, we are promoting development of next-generation leaders by encouraging executives to participate in management as board members of group companies.
Regarding employee retention, we conduct an organizational survey every year and implement individual 1-on-1 interviews, continuously evolving to become a more rewarding company to work for. In terms of compensation, we are working on a project to increase Average annual salary of our consultants to 10 million yen by 2030.
Regarding the advancement of women, in February 2025 we signed the "Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs)," which are action guidelines for actively promoting the advancement of women. We have set targets of 25% for ratio of female managers in fiscal year 2025 and 30% in fiscal year 2030, and our actual performance in fiscal year 2024 was 24.1%, showing steady progress. Furthermore, Funai Soken Holdings Inc. and Funai Consulting Inc. received the highest rating of 3 stars in the "Eruboshi Certification" awarded by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for their excellent Initiatives in promoting the advancement of women, and 2 stars in the HR certification. Force acquired each of them (acquisition status: as of October 2025).

8. Prioritizing Capital Efficiency & Shareholder Returns

Our basic policy is to enhance shareholder value in the medium to long term by forming an optimal level of shareholder equity, expanding profits through proactive business investments, and improving capital efficiency.
As part of our efficiency policy, we have revised our ROE (Return on Equity) Targets for 2025 in our medium-term management plan upward from the previous 20% or higher to 25% or higher. Our actual ROE for fiscal year 2024 was 24.3%, and we are making strong progress toward achieving this target.
Shareholder Returns policy is to maintain a dividend payout ratio of 55% or more and Return-to-shareholders ratio of 60% or more, and our performance in each fiscal year under the current medium-term plan has exceeded these targets. Furthermore, we plan to pay an annual dividend of 85 yen in fiscal year 2025, an increase of 10 yen from the previous year, which, if achieved, would mark our 15th consecutive year of dividend increases. In addition, in order to implement a flexible capital policy, improve capital efficiency, and enhance Shareholder Returns , we resolved to repurchase Treasury shares up to a maximum of 2.5 billion yen in August 2025, and we have also expanded Shareholder Benefits program to twice a year.
Furthermore, investor relations (IR) activities, including dialogue with investors, are Initiatives for enhancing our corporate value. We have established new shareholder briefings for individual investors and offer office tours to institutional investors. Valuable opinions and insights gained from constructive dialogues are shared with the Board of Directors through a dedicated department, and we are working to improve our practices while also receiving feedback from outside directors.

9. Encouraged by Your Unwavering Confidence in Us

While our company has achieved sustained profit growth, we see the lack of this translating into improved stock price performance as a challenge.
In fiscal year 2025, as the final year of our medium-term management plan, we aim not only to achieve our targets of 33 billion yen in group Net sales , 8.9 billion yen Operating income , and an ROE of 25% or more, but also to strive for sustainable and robust business growth and enhance corporate value. We would appreciate your continued support.

Funai Soken Holdings Inc.
President Group CEO