Message from the President

When our founder, Shoya Honda, traveled to the United States, he was impressed by the emergence of suburban stores as the motorization of North American society progressed. One type of store that particularly caught his eye was the home center. Convinced that consumers in Japan, their food and clothing needs having been met, would soon turn their eyes toward their living environments, he decided in 1975 to establish “Joyful Honda,” with the theme of “making living environments richer and more comfortable.”
The company’s name, “Joyful Honda,” is imbued with the founder’s wish to bring smiles and enjoyment and to create joy and dreams together with customers. Even today, as needs and channels have become increasingly diverse, the joy of local communities is our joy, and eliminating customers’ “negatives” and delivering new value has been our style since the very beginning.
Without being bound by the conventions of the home center, we will build stores that are connected to locals with strong bonds of trust and that are loved by their local communities. We also aim to create stores where our employees can feel pride and joy in working in those local communities and in our stores.
We will continue our “innovation” and “challenge” to be the kind of stores that customers will think of first, both in normal times and when they have a problem to solve.

Never forgetting our beginnings, we look forward to welcoming you to the new Joyful Honda!

With “Cultivate Fans of Joyful Honda!!” as our fundamental policy for the fiscal year ended June 2025, we have developed the following five themes based on the current situation of the Company while following the previous year’s fundamental policy, “Return to our starting point and create a new corporate culture,” and have been engaged in business operations.
(1) Actively invest in our human capital
(2) Seriously address customer issues
(3) Digital strategy
(4) Investment to increase the appeal of existing stores
(5) Building a proactive store opening system

 

In the area of “Actively invest in our human capital,” we granted restricted shares to our employees through the Joyful Honda Group Employee Stock Ownership Association as a measure to promote employee welfare on the occasion of our 50th anniversary. By further sharing value with shareholders of the Company and providing incentives for enhancing sustainable corporate value, we have strengthened our human capital, improved the work environment, and changed the mindset of our employees. In addition, we strengthened sales promotion by increasing the number of female sales floor managers from the viewpoint of women’s empowerment and by practicing customer service based on diverse perspectives.

 

In the area of “Seriously address customer issues,” we established a store staff education section to create stores that can grow and created a “skill map” to enhance the expertise of sales floor staff. Going forward, we will strengthen our customer service capabilities by acquiring specialized knowledge and passing on skills through the use of the skill map. Taking advantage of our strength as physical stores, the repair office training team will provide guidance.

 

As part of our Digital strategy, we opened a logistics center (transfer center, or TC) in April 2025 and began operating it with the aim of building a logistics system with a view to developing multiple stores in the future. Operating the logistics center has resulted in a reduction in the time required for inspection and product display at the stores. By allocating the time saved by this improvement to tasks such as customer service, effective store operation has become possible. We will continue to expand the number of suppliers that use the logistics center. We promoted operational efficiency through introducing full self-checkout systems and secured customer service hours to expand customer contact points. We also encouraged the use of mobile terminals to reduce time for inspection, ordering, and slip issuance. As such, we have also developed an operational structure to improve productivity.

 

With regard to “Investment to increase the appeal of existing stores”, we reviewed sales floor zoning and actively worked to attract tenants that improve customer convenience. In addition, in June 2025, we completed the installation of solar power generation facilities at 11 stores and 16 facilities, including the Arakawaoki Store (Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture), the Koga Store (Koga City, Ibaraki Prefecture), and the Satte Store (Satte City, Saitama Prefecture). Of these, 10 stores are now equipped with storage batteries and have begun operating them on a full-scale basis. The total annual electricity generated by operating all solar power facilities will be approximately 10 million kWh, and approximately 25% of the total electricity required by all facilities equipped with solar panels will come from their roofs. This is expected to reduce annual CO2 emissions by approximately 3,800 tons. Furthermore, a solar car port was completed in June 2025 using the vast parking lot of the Chiba New Town store. Together with the existing rooftop solar power generation system, the environmental value of the solar car port is compensated for, thereby further increasing the power self-sufficiency ratio and helping to reduce electricity costs.

 

In the area of “Building a proactive store opening system”, we established a new store renovation section to utilize the new store format, and have developed a speedy store opening system by responding flexibly according to store size and site area. During the fiscal year under review, we opened our second pet store, Pet’s CLOVER, in Isesaki City, Gunma Prefecture in June 2025, as well as a new type store, Joyful Honda Shizaikan. “Joyful Honda Shizaikan” is a new type of store that supplies tools and work supplies for professional use at Honda-ya, as well as industrial paints, curing materials, electrical equipment, water supply materials, non-residential equipment, and other materials needed at worksites. We will continue to expand the number of stores under the Shizaikan model, which emphasizes convenience and efficiency.

 

In addition to the measures for the main themes, we implemented various initiatives.
As for capital policy initiatives, having become aware of some shareholders’ intention to sell the Company’s shares, we conducted a secondary offering of the Company’s shares with the aim of providing an opportunity for them to sell them smoothly and to actively reorganize the shareholder structure. In addition, in order to strengthen shareholder returns and improve capital efficiency, and in view of the impact of the secondary offering on the supply and demand of the Company’s shares, we acquired treasury shares at the same time as the secondary offering. We revised the shareholder benefit program of the Company to increase the number of shareholders who are our fans and hold the Company’s shares over the medium to long term, and to further expand the program. In addition to increasing the amount of regular benefits, we newly established the “Benefit Program for Shareholders with Long-term Holdings,” which provides a higher level of benefits to shareholders who have held the Company’s shares continuously for three years or more on the record date of June 20 of each year.

 

As for corporate evaluation, Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I) has granted the Company an “A- ” issuer rating and a “Stable” Rating Outlook as an objective evaluation of our business and financial status from a third-party organization. With this rating, we will enhance management transparency and external creditworthiness, and connect that to enhancing corporate value and diversifying future funding. We also received an “AA” rating in MSCI (Note), the global evaluation index for ESG investments. The MSCI rating assesses industry-specific ESG risks and the Company’s ability to manage these risks relative to our peers. Our ESG initiatives have been recognized, and the MSCI rating was upgraded to AA from A last year.

 

In addition to these initiatives, we, as a member of the local community, are actively working with local governments to strengthen disaster prevention and response capabilities. During the fiscal year under review, we concluded agreements on mutual cooperation in the event of a disaster with NTT DOCOMO, INC., as well as Sugito-machi, Kitakatsushika-gun, Saitama Prefecture; Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture; Yoshioka-machi, Kitagunma-gun, Gunma Prefecture; Ota City, Gunma Prefecture; and Toride City, Ibaraki Prefecture. As a result of this project, we have concluded agreements with 21 local governments and one business operator regarding assistance and cooperation in the event of a disaster.

 

Based on the above efforts and initiatives, net sales for the fiscal year under review were 128,980 million yen (up 1.6% year on year); operating profit was 10,748 million yen (up 1.7% year on year); ordinary profit came to 11,878 million yen (up 2.0% year on year); and profit was 8,327 million yen (down 8.4% year on year).

 

(Note) The use of data from MSCI ESG Research LLC or its affiliates (“MSCI”) and use of MSCI logos, trademarks, service marks or index names by Joyful Honda Co., Ltd. does not constitute support, endorsement, or promotion by Joyful Honda Co., Ltd. MSCI’s services and data are the property of MSCI or its information providers, and such information is provided as is and without warranty. The MSCI name and logo are trademarks or service marks of MSCI.
 

Amid a market environment in which soaring raw material prices, a longer summer and winter due to global warming, and rising demand for disaster prevention and crime prevention have become more clearly evident, wood and building materials sales were sluggish in the materials and professional supplies business. This was due to the low number of new construction starts caused by rising construction costs and a shortage of craftsmen. On the other hand, sales of materials for professional use were strong thanks to the promotion of shop-in-shop (in-store sales) for Honda-ya and its brand. Meanwhile, due to the effects of the scorching heat, consumers have increasingly avoided outdoor activities such as gardening, and thus sales of flower and vegetable seedlings and related categories struggled. However, sales of air-conditioned clothing, machinery that improves time performance, summer home appliances, heat-shielding products, and cool-feeling items remained strong. Following the announcement of Nankai Trough Earthquake Extra Information by the Japan Meteorological Agency, sales of disaster-related products were strong due to a sharp increase in disaster-prevention awareness, and sales of security-related products such as security cameras and sensor lights and related construction works were also strong due to a rise in security awareness as a result of news reports on a series of robberies.
Accordingly, net sales in the housing segment for the fiscal year under review were 72,776 million yen (up 0.9% year on year).
 

Following the announcement of Nankai Trough Earthquake Extra Information in August 2024, household demand for rice stockpiling increased significantly along with increased awareness of disaster prevention. Even after the distribution of newly harvested rice, there was no improvement in the supply and demand for rice, and due to media reports of a rice shortage and strong demand, the segment remained robust. Also, the trend toward disaster prevention food, portable power sources, and portable toilets became even more active. While consumers were reluctant to buy high-priced products as a result of their desire to save money due to rising prices, demand for cost-efficient products, such as long-roll toilet paper, was strong. Demand for high-value-added pet-related products was also solid. In addition to strong demand for functional products and premium foods made from natural materials, demand for leashes and pet apparel grew due to increased opportunities for consumers to go out.
As a result, net sales in the lifestyle segment for the fiscal year under review were 56,204 million yen (up 2.6% year on year).