Ever since ITOCHU set a precedent for the brand business by importing textiles for men's clothing in the 1970s, we have developed the license business to handle sports brands, casual brands and luxury brands. We have expanded our sales channels to include mass retailers in addition to department stores. Additionally, we have begun acquiring trademarks and directly investing in companies that own brands. We acquired world-famous brands such as HUNTING WORLD and LeSportsac. We have acquired the Converse trademarks in Japan and participate in the management of Paul Smith Group Holdings Limited of the U.K. Now, as lifestyles become increasingly diverse, we have expanded our domains into the entire area of lifestyle categories, beyond the clothing sector, by handling OUTDOOR PRODUCTS, STANLEY and many other brands in the shoes, bags and commodities areas in addition to a wide array of apparel brands. To keep pace with increasingly diverse consumption behaviors, we have been working proactively to reform our business model utilizing AI and other advanced digital technologies, not to mention enhanced e-commerce and omnichannel approaches in collaboration with Leilian Co., Ltd., JOI'X CORPORATION and CONVERSE JAPAN Co., Ltd.
Moving forward, we will work to further diversify our brand business while monitoring the global market, including the Japanese and Chinese markets and other Asian markets, leveraging the strengths we derive from our market-oriented perspective.