With a view to further global business expansion, we will pursue the creation of value provided to customers as the outstanding No. 1 player in a niche segment
Four outside directors held a roundtable discussion about the current status and future expectations of the Fujibo Group.
Q1. Please share your assessment of the efforts made so far under Medium-term Management Plan “Zokyo 21-25,” and what your key themes are for the next Medium-term Management Plan.
From the left: Outside Director Mr.Tsubota, Outside Director Ms. Jarman, Outside Director Ms.Sato, Outside Director Mr. Kobayashi
Kobayashi : Looking at each individual theme, such as the investment strategy, ESG and SDGs initiatives, ROIC management, and shareholder return policy, I believe that the Company has made steady progress. On the other hand, the Company still has some way to go to achieve its quantitative targets for net sales and operating profit, and its challenge is to become more competitive and establish a profit structure that will not be affected by changes, such as the silicon cycle, in the external environment. In the next Medium-term Management Plan, I believe that the Company needs to have a strong desire to promote its business and increase the level of its commitment.
It is also important for the Company, as a holding company, to clarify its mission with regard to what it will contribute to society. It should be a clear and powerful message to internal and external audiences, a guideline for action when faced with difficulties, and a basis for decisionmaking when reviewing business operations.
Jarman : I feel that through the initiatives of “Zokyo 21-25” to date, the Company’s foundation for profit-producing mechanisms has quite literally been strengthened. In anuncertain and challenging business environment, management has responded and adapted flexibly. I also feel that over the past few years, organizational capabilities and teamwork have been strengthened, and communication with the management of each business firm has become flatter and less hierarchical. I believe these changes will be a major positive factor for the Company’s growth going forward.
Fujibo is a company that boldly takes on the challenge of new possibilities, and has many human resources with unique ideas and the ability to create innovation. I think it is important to really emphasize the idea of “Fujibo the Innovator” in the next Medium-term Management Plan.
Sato : I praise the Company for its steady implementation of “‘Zo:’ Increase revenue opportunities,” one of the three policies of “Zokyo 21-25.” This includes enhancing production capacity and R&D capabilities in the Polishing Pad and Industrial Chemicals businesses, suspending a portion of Lifestyle Apparel Business operations, and concentrating management resources on the Polishing Pad Business. On the other hand, at this point, we do not have a clear picture of the progress made with regard to “‘Kyo:’ Strengthen the value proposition” or “Reform operation processes by continuing and fortifying DX,” and I would like to investigate these areas and gain an understanding of any lingering issues.
In the next Medium-term Management Plan, I believe it is important to properly evaluate how much has been achieved of what the Company wanted to achieve over the past five years, and then to identify remaining issues and set items to be addressed in the future.
Tsubota : Although the scope of my evaluation will be limited as I was appointed as an outside director in 2024, I feel that the Company has done an excellent job of aggressively reforming its business portfolio.
Regarding the next Medium-term Management Plan, while a backcasting perspective is of course necessary, I believe that what is most important is how quickly and flexibly the Company can respond when something happens in a business environment where we cannot predict what will happen in the future. I would like to see the necessary measures included based on this perspective.
Q2. Please share your assessment of the Company’s efforts in terms of governance and what challenges you see in this area for the future.
Sato : I view the Group’s governance as being characterized by the fact that the entire Group is loosely bound together while still respecting the independence and autonomy of each business firm. At a time when the ability to respond appropriately and in a timely manner is require dunder highly uncertain circumstances, I believe this will be a great advantage.
However, it is essential the Fujibo Group have a firmly shared understanding of just what it is the Group values. Over the next five years, I believe it will be important to ensure that the standards of conduct, guidelines, and vision common to the entire Group permeate the management of each business firm.
Jarman : I have been serving as an outside director since 2019 and I really feel that the trust between the executive side and outside directors has grown stronger and stronger. I can freely and without reservation say what I want to say and ask what I want to ask. Each business firm is independent yet bound together by the holding company structure, and a clear view can be gained of the whole. I believe that a challenge for the future is to devote more time to the discussion of important issues related to management strategy.
Tsubota : In order for the Company to achieve faster management, it is necessary to expand the discretion of the executive side through a significant transfer of authority, and to change the system to one that allows the Board of Directors to calmly supervise and evaluate the Company’s operations. Going forward, I believe the Company should engage in investigating and revising its institutional design.
Another important issue is the establishment of governance at the global level. With there inevitably being areas that are difficult to keep an eye on, how will the Company make governance function in the global market? This is something the Company must take seriously in its next Medium-term Management Plan.
Kobayashi : I share your view of the issues at hand. Changing the structure of a company takes time, but there are also the demands of the market and society to consider. I would like to see the Company work on changing ways of thinking as preliminary preparation, and on reforming the way the entire Group is managed.
Q3. What are some of the challenges the Company needs to address as it aims to become the global No. 1 player in a niche segment?
Tsubota : In order to become the global No. 1 player in a niche segment, the Company must conduct marketing and develop products in various parts of the world and aggressively enter markets. Especially in entering new markets, I would like to see the Company take initiative and be proactive in product development, production, sales, and service.
The strength of a global company is that even if business is slow in one part of the world, it can sustain growth by shifting its focus to a region where it is doing well. It may take time, but I anticipate that the Company will grow into such a true global player in a niche segment, and I will be contributing toward that goal to the best of my abilities.
Sato : In aiming to be a global company, I think it is very important to keep abreast of what customers around the world are looking for, and to continue to pursue what the Company can do to meet those needs. In order to achieve this, the Company must fully leverage the capabilities of its people. I believe that it will become increasingly important for every employee to actively and freely express his or her own ideas, and for the Company to reflect these ideas in its strategies.
Jarman : I have worked with many corporations, but I feel that few of them value their external stakeholders as much as the Company does. On the other hand, internal stakeholders will also be important in the coming future, and it is necessary for the Company to create an environment that motivates employees and pushes them to transition from a domestic mindset to an international mindset.
It will also be important to raise morale by setting high goals. Additionally, I think one more issue is the revision of the compensation system to one based on performance and individual employee contributions.
Kobayashi : I believe that the Company can provide products and services that exceed customer expectations by comprehensively integrating the technologies and business processes of its diverse business fields together with the needs of its customers. I think that by making visible its strengths in core technologies and capabilities to meet customer needs, and having each business firm utilize these as the common foundation of the entire Group, it will be possible for the Company to provide solutions unlike anything it has produced to date. I intend to work on the realization of this idea in the next Medium-term Management Plan.