The cornerstone of the Food Company's strategy is the Strategic Integrated System (SIS), which is rooted in customer needs. The information obtained from customers is important for implementation from product development and manufacturing through to supply and procurement of ingredients. Through its comprehensive efforts in the retail sector, the company is creating a supply and demand "food chain" with customer needs as the starting point.
In February 1998, ITOCHU acquired shares in FamilyMart Co., Ltd. Since then, ITOCHU has pursued initiatives with FamilyMart in a range of fields including efficient distribution management and product development. One example of product development is the fresh eggs currently sold at FamilyMart. To respond to the orientation toward safety among customers, FamilyMart and the Food Company Group joined together to develop this product. The Food Company Group undertakes the whole process from importing the corn that is the main ingredient in chicken feed to manufacturing the feed, raising the chickens, producing eggs, and delivering the eggs to stores in refrigerated trucks.
We entered into a capital and business alliance with UNY Co., Ltd. in October 2009, and with IZUMIYA Co., Ltd. in February 2010. We reached an agreement with these companies based on the conclusion that the companies involved, including ITOCHU, would be capable of improving each other's corporate value even further by making more effective use of their respective management resources. The alliance will organically combine the two companies' stores, customers, and product development functions with ITOCHU's retail support functions, including its global network, procurement, information technology, and distribution know-how. The alliance will also pursue joint activities to bolster the corporate value of each company.