I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your continued support of our company and products.

In today’s rapidly changing society, the business environment surrounding us continues to shift dramatically from day to day. Looking back on 2025, prolonged inflation, combined with global economic instability—including the introduction of reciprocal tariffs by the United States—has driven corporate operating costs steadily upward. Although wage increases have been spreading in response to rising prices, real disposable income, after accounting for inflation, has yet to show meaningful improvement, leaving many people feeling little relief in their daily lives.

Amid these circumstances, changes have also emerged in consumer behavior. While spending on daily necessities—such as household goods, food, and utilities—has been restrained, expenditures on dining out, travel, and beauty services have increased. Rather than reducing all spending uniformly, consumers are choosing to spend intentionally on ‘what truly holds value,’ making this selective, value‑driven consumption trend even more pronounced.

In the beauty industry, salon hair‑care sales have continued to grow steadily year after year. At the same time, the mass market has seen a rapid shift toward high‑premium products, with mid‑ to high‑priced hair‑care items gaining significant presence. This trend presents major growth opportunities for the beauty market as a whole. As consumers’ standards for beauty continue to rise, we believe that high‑value‑added products and services will play an increasingly important role in driving the industry forward.

For more than 60 years, we have worked alongside salon professionals—the true experts in beauty—to develop our products. By applying the reliable technologies and expertise cultivated through these partnerships, and by delivering that value across an even broader range of fields, we will continue contributing to the further development and prosperity of society as a whole.

I humbly ask for your continued and unwavering support.

Shaping Beauty Together

Since 2017, we have carried forward our medium‑term management policy structured around the Hop, Step, and Jump phases, each spanning three years. This year marks the final stage of that nine‑year journey—the culmination of the challenges we have taken on so far, and an important turning point as we open the door to our next stage of growth. We will commit ourselves fully to ensuring that this year becomes a springboard for even greater progress.

In 2024, the first year of the Jump phase, we established our corporate purpose: “Shaping Beauty Together.” This purpose expresses our aim to be more than a hair‑cosmetics manufacturer in a world where circumstances and values change rapidly. It reflects our commitment to live alongside society and help address social issues as a company that goes ‘beyond manufacturing.’

Guided by this purpose, we undertook company‑wide discussions about how we can contribute to society and what kind of future we aim to create. The result was a 10‑year future map (*), developed under the slogan ‘CHANGE the ALWAYS: Change the Future Now.’ Using this future map as our compass, we are now identifying medium‑ to long‑term challenges and taking on a variety of initiatives to address them.

As we continue working toward realizing this envisioned future, our goal is to be an approachable company—one that stays close to society and to people through the power of beauty, and that stands ready to collaborate whenever needed.

Together, we will continue striving to create a better society and a better industry, and to build a world where people everywhere can enjoy beauty at any time.

We sincerely hope you will continue to look to NAKANO with confidence in 2026.

(*) Based on the NAKANO 10-year future map from 2024