(297A) Stock Price

Alpico Holdings is a holding company that manages its subsidiaries while operating a group of community-focused businesses including food retail, transportation, tourism, real estate, and insurance. Its core operations are the food supermarket chain "Delicia" operating throughout Nagano Prefecture, "Business Super Uepalette" focused on wholesale, mobility services such as buses, railways, and taxis, and tourism-related businesses including hotels and travel products.

The company's primary customers are residents and tourists in Nagano Prefecture, with sales centered on food sales to local residents and tourism and transportation usage. The distribution business generates revenue from retail store sales, the transportation business from expressway and sightseeing bus fares, tourism and lodging from accommodation fees and travel product sales, real estate from rental income, and insurance from insurance premiums—securing revenue across multiple pillars.

The business segments are clearly defined. Distribution operates on two tracks: quality-focused "Delicia" stores and low-price high-volume "Business Super Uepalette," while advancing multichannel strategies including mobile sales, online delivery, and unmanned checkout stores. Transportation operates expressway buses (with Shinjuku routes representing a significant portion of expressway bus revenue), sightseeing route buses, the Kamikochi Line railway, taxi and maintenance services. Tourism includes city, business, and resort hotel operations, service area management, travel products, and leisure facility operations. Additionally, the company meets regional demand through real estate rental and villa community management, as well as insurance sales.

Alpico Holdings operates as a holding company with the long-term vision "ALPICO VISION 2035" and a medium-term management plan (2024–2026), aiming for sustainable growth across multiple community-focused businesses. During the medium-term plan period, the company positions M&A promotion, deepening and expanding business areas, and creating new businesses as key growth drivers. By 2035, the goal is to create "enjoyment and excitement," enhance added value, and contribute to regional development. Specifically, the company plans to strengthen its business foundation over the three-year period from 2024 to 2026, while expanding group-wide revenue and diversifying its business portfolio.

Priority investment sectors are distribution, transportation, tourism, real estate, and insurance—five fields where the company will pursue differentiation leveraging existing strengths. In distribution, the company operates two banners, "Delicia" and "Gyomu Super/U-Palette," implementing pricing strategy reviews and enhanced membership services, while strengthening customer touchpoints through the Pico Plus Card app. In transportation and tourism, the company is pursuing higher value-added services on routes with expected inbound demand, such as Kamikochi and Hakuba, while also reviewing unprofitable routes and requesting subsidies from local governments. The company aims to differentiate itself from competitors through facility renovations and service improvements while leveraging regional characteristics.

For new market development and business expansion, the company pursues both external growth through M&A and deepening existing areas in parallel. In retail, the company is promoting multichannel strategies including mobile sales, online delivery, and unmanned checkout stores. In transportation and taxi operations, the company leverages ride-hailing app adoption and cross-area staff support to flexibly meet demand. Additionally, in vacation home management within real estate, the company is developing outdoor-related services for younger demographics and promoting tourism through regional partnerships, aiming for co-creation of regional value. Through M&A and locally-rooted initiatives, the company seeks to develop new customer segments and revenue sources.

Regarding technological innovation, the company incorporates operational efficiency and labor reduction into concrete initiatives. In distribution, the company is implementing AI-driven automatic ordering systems for customer count and demand forecasting, and advancing digitalization (DX) of headquarters operations to reduce fixed tasks. In transportation, the company is improving vehicle utilization rates through ride-hailing apps and optimized route management. These efforts address labor shortages and working hour regulations while contributing to cost control amid rising energy and logistics expenses. During the medium-term plan period, the company will accelerate these technology investments to achieve both productivity improvements and service quality enhancement.