From our President and CEO Investors

To our shareholders and investors

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our shareholders and investors for your continued support and encouragement.

For the first half of FY2027.3, while net sales exceeded the same period last year, operating profit fell short of the prior-year figure. The business environment remained challenging due to unfavorable weather conditions and a delayed start to demand for fall merchandise. Despite these circumstances, our self-operated stores and our in-house e-commerce platform performed steadily, and the gross profit margin improved.

We have revised our Full year Earnings Forecast to reflect the first half results. In the second half, we will work toward achieving our targets by focusing on the fall/winter sales season, optimizing inventory levels, and reviewing expense management.
We are maintaining our dividend forecast at 70 yen per share for the fiscal year (35 yen interim, 35 yen year-end).

In addition, we are currently reviewing our Five-Year Medium-Term Management Plan.Under this plan, guided by “PLAY EARTH 2030,” we have established four pillars: global expansion through Goldwin500, sustainable growth of THE NORTH FACE, enhancement of the quality of our brand portfolio, and the development of experiential businesses. To date, we have made steady progress in several initiatives, including the growth of the Goldwin brand in China, progress on Goldwin500, and the acquisition of Alpine Tour Service as a subsidiary.
On the other hand, THE NORTH FACE’s first-half net sales remained at the same level as the same period last year. This was not solely due to weather conditions. We recognize that there were issues requiring review in our projections—which assumed of continued high growth—as well as in our distribution outlook and our approach to product development and product mix.
Furthermore, regarding our brand portfolio, we are re-examining which areas we should concentrate our management resources on.

 What has become clear through this review is that, while our company possesses the earning power to generate high profit margins and a financial foundation that is effectively debt-free, there are areas that require reassessment regarding our assumptions about growth and the allocation of resources.

We are currently conducting this review based on five key pillars: (1) business areas to prioritize, (2) monozukuri (the art of making things), (3) store development, (4) experience creation, and (5) the capital allocation (cash allocation) that supports these efforts.
We will concentrate our management resources on our roots in the outdoor sector and deliver even greater brand value through our products, retail spaces, and customer experiences.
For THE NORTH FACE, strengthening our development structure to match the scale of our business is a key challenge. Going forward, we will expand investment in development to strengthen the creation of high-performance product lines, while also reviewing our product mix and launch volumes based on in-store sales performance and customer preferences. Rather than simply pursuing volume growth, we will shift toward a virtuous cycle centered on core product sales, reinvesting the profits generated back into development.
Furthermore, regarding capital allocation, we are conducting a thorough review from the perspective of balancing growth investments with shareholder returns. Please note that there are no changes to our shareholder return policy, which targets a Dibidend on equity (DOE） raito of 6% or higher and a total return ratio of 40% or higher.
We will provide a separate explanation regarding the results of our review of the Five-Year Medium-Term Management Plan and our capital allocation policy.
  We will return to our roots in the outdoors and manufacturing to reexamine our brand value and chart a course toward sustainable growth.

We ask our shareholders and investors for their continued understanding and support.