ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has reached an agreement with YAMAE Group Holdings Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka; Hideto Ouda, Chairman & CEO; hereinafter “YAMAE GHD”) regarding capital restructuring in the confectionery wholesale business. As a result, ITOCHU will acquire 40.8% of the issued shares of Confex Holdings Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Yasushi Kon, President; hereinafter “Confex HD”), a subsidiary of YAMAE GHD engaged in confectionery wholesaling.^*1

Under this agreement, ITOCHU will subscribe to a third-party allotment of new shares by Confex HD. Additionally, through a stock swap, Confex HD will make Dolce Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Dolce”), a member of the ITOCHU Group, its wholly owned subsidiary, thereby integrating the confectionery wholesale businesses of both companies. After integration, it is expected that Confex HD’s sales will reach approximately 400 billion yen, making it the no. 1 confectionery wholesaler in Japan by sales volume, based on ITOCHU’s estimates.^*2

Confex HD’s core company is Confex Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Confex”), a major confectionery wholesaler with approximately 500 retail customers nationwide. Confex is engaged in a wide range of businesses related to confectioneries, including planning, development, manufacturing, and retail.
Dolce is a confectionery wholesaler that mainly supplies confectionery products to major convenience stores. It is engaged in the development and management of private brand confectionery products.

It is expected that the confectionery market will continue to expand, driven by increased inbound demand and the active proposal of new consumption opportunities. In the Japanese confectionery wholesale industry, which is estimated to be an approximately 2 trillion yen^*3 industry, wholesalers are not just required to procure and supply products nationwide, but they are also required to provide comprehensive functions including product development, logistics, and marketing to retailers and manufacturers. Strengthening these capabilities is essential in the increasingly competitive environment.

In this context, by combining its procurement and sales network and product development capabilities with Dolce’s expertise in products serving convenience stores, Confex HD aims to become an indispensable confectionery wholesaler for all business partners.

Under its management policy, “The Brand-new Deal: Profit opportunities are shifting downstream,” ITOCHU will continue to accurately capture diversifying needs in response to changes in society and expand its business domains by developing and transforming downstream businesses.