Yoshikazu Yokote

Biography

  "For the joy of giving joy" - Since the establishment of POLA in 1929, we have continually been listening to and serving our customers in our efforts to present products and services that are suited to the times. We now have brands with strong and distinctive value: two basic brands "POLA" and "ORBIS," and also the department store brand "THREE", the special brand for sensitive skin "DECENCIA," and the overseas brands "Jurlique" and "H2O PLUS". We have deployed a variety of product brands, sales channels, and price bands in Japan, Asia, and all over the world. The POLA ORBIS Group is characterized by its being a close, familiar presence to its customers, a natural result of its having adopted direct sales as its sales mode since POLA's founding. During the ten years since this Group was established in 2006, the market environment has of course changed greatly, and with this, the Group itself also has been transformed. Up until now, each of our brands has been distinctive, offering a variety of unique values. However, with our 100th anniversary coming up in 2029, this has been the time for us to proceed to the next step in our growth. It has become necessary to further nurture our sense of unity as a Group, by clearly identifying the Group's significance for society, the type of business which it aims to be, its strengths, and the value of its offerings. We have considered what changes and values we can offer to all of our stakeholders, and how each of us must think and act to make those contributions. As a result, the Group's ideals have been reformed. The Group's new ideals are: the Mission of "sensitizing the world to beauty" and the Vision of "maximizing the unique character of each brand, and becoming a global corporate group that enriches the lives of people around the world". To accomplish this Mission and realize this Vision, we have established a Way, five guidelines for action. This Mission expresses our desire to be a Group that not only provides cosmetic products and services, but that also expands people's sensitivity and provides stimuli for them to change their lives, through experiences, information, cultural activities, art, etc. that have distinctive values. For this purpose, we are determined to further develop our own sensitivity and individuality, which will continually shine through in the work we do. In fiscal 2016, the last year of our mid-term management plan, our existing brands have performed well, boosting our overall sales throughout the year, so that for the seventh consecutive period, we have achieved growth in our sales and operating profit. In the new fiscal year 2017, the first year of our new mid-term management plan that is the final phase in our efforts to realize our long-term 2020 Vision, we shall make investments to ensure domestic business growth and establish new brands, and shall accelerate our overseas business development, by utilizing our strengths, i.e. "high brand loyalty through direct ties with our customers", "R&D capability in the skin care area through concentration of our resources", and "our multi-value chain strategy exploiting strong synergistic effects of our brands upon each other", based on our new Group ideals. We shall then become "the high-profit global business "in the beauty and health fields that all of you expect of us.

Research Interest

 Cosmetology,Dermatology