ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Yoshihisa Suzuki, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it will start marketing which targets inbound Chinese tourists to Japan in collaboration with “中信優享＋(CITIC App)”, a Chinese online service platform.
As a first step, ITOCHU will distribute coupons through CITIC App, which can be used at all FamilyMart stores in Japan for visiting CITIC Group customers.

The amount of consumption by foreign tourists to Japan has been increasing annually. In 2018, the total amount of consumption by inbound tourists stood at 4,506.4 billion yen, of which the amount of consumption by Chinese tourists was 1,537.0 billion yen*¹. However, the amount of consumption by inbound tourists per person has been falling annually. As consumption of goods and services emphasizing value in terms of use and experience as opposed to material consumption is increasing, it is important to respond to needs more meticulously.

CITIC Group Corporation (headquartered in Beijing; hereinafter “CITIC”) is China’s largest conglomerate and provides financial services, including banking, securities, trusts and insurance, and has retail businesses, including the culture, leisure, consumption and healthcare businesses. The entire group has more than 100 million customers in China. To enable customers to use services on a smartphone, CITIC launched an application on WeChat, a major social network in China, and Alipay, a major payment platform, last July. CITIC App allocates an integrated ID for each user, enabling them to use the group’s online financial services and receive coupons for McDonald’s stores in China and CITIC Bookstore, which are affiliated with CITIC. CITIC App users can also use non-financial services, including services at airport lounges. The number of users has been expanding steadily and reached 30 million in May 2019. The number is expected to exceed 50 million this year.

ITOCHU is distributing coupons that can be used in all FamilyMart stores in Japan on CITIC App from June 4, 2019. CITIC will analyze the use of services on CITIC App, project users’ consumption trends and distribute coupons effectively.
It will promote alliances with various types of retailers in Japan, such as department stores, commercial facilities and restaurants. ITOCHU will also promote collaboration with media related to inbound tourists and will deepen collaboration with CITIC. In this way, ITOCHU will enhance support for its customers’ sales promotion targeting inbound tourists.

ITOCHU is promoting the enhancement of the value chain in consumer businesses and the evolution of business models using new technologies to reinvent business under its medium-term management plan, Brand-new Deal 2020.
Regarding the use of data, ITOCHU formed a capital and business alliance with FreakOut Holdings, which is developing data marketing, in December 2018. Through the marketing business targeting inbound tourists in collaboration with CITIC, ITOCHU will accelerate the reinvention of business using its network of partners.