CEO Message
Hello.
This is Akira Yoshioka, Representative Director, President and CEO.
ASKUL celebrated 30th anniversary of its founding in March 2023. At the time of its founding, we started the mail-order business with the promise of next-day delivery of office supplies, but today it has grown to deliver not only office supplies, but also all kinds of necessities and services for the workplace and daily life. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude for your support.
In recent years, the social and economic situation has become difficult to predict and alarming, and the response toward a carbon-neutral society for climate change risks has become an urgent issue, requiring us to contribute to the global environment in addition to promoting our business. In this regard, we are steadily implementing our Medium-Term Management Plan, which runs through the fiscal year ending May 20, 2025, so that we can enhance our corporate value while realizing a trade-on between social value and economic value.
In the fiscal year ended May 20, 2023, we worked on two major performance goals: changing the curve of our B-to-B business growth trajectory and making LOHACO profitable for the full fiscal year. As a result, we achieved both goals and posted record-high net sales and operating profit.
On the other hand, in terms of ESG targets, we have made significant progress in our initiatives to promote solutions to environmental issues as a unified manner with our business. As part of our resource-recycling efforts, we created proprietary scheme collecting and recycling used clear plastic holders, and commercialized as Matakul, an ASKUL private brand after receiving used clear plastic holders from many domestic business sites, sorting, and recycling. In addition, we formulated the ASKUL Product Environmental Standards, and we gave each product an environmental-friendliness score based on the standards and posted it on our website. We are promoting the development of environment-friendly products through co-creation with manufacturers and suppliers.
Through these efforts, we will continue to evolve as an ethical e-commerce company that considers environmental preservation and social contribution, while achieving transformation from an office supplies mail-order company as an infrastructure company that supports all workplaces and lifestyles, and striving to achieve the goals of our Medium-Term Management Plan.
In the fiscal year ending May 20, 2024, the third year of our Medium-Term Management Plan, we will accelerate sales growth and begin profit growth to enhance our corporate value while making further efforts to solve issues for customers, society, and the earth.
Thank you for your continued support.
November 2023
Akira Yoshioka
Representative Director, President and CEO