Business Overview 4. DX Regional Collaboration Project Signpost's DX and Regional Collaboration Project started in March 2022 with the establishment of the DX and Regional Collaboration Division. It aims to provide products and services that contribute to regional collaboration by collaborating with local financial institutions nationwide, utilizing its own DX technology and open innovation. In August 2022, it began working with Oita Made Co., Ltd., which was established with the investment of multiple companies in Oita Prefecture, including Oita Bank, to sell original products made in Oita Prefecture to both domestic and overseas markets and to match local companies and Signpost's products and services in order to promote the revitalization of Oita Prefecture's economy. In addition, in April 2024, it started offering DX support services for medium-sized and small businesses. As the first effort, it supports the creation of DX declaration by (The) Fourth Hokuriku Bank, Ltd. (Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture) to deploy DX declaration support services to the market. Furthermore, it will realize new solutions by commercializing its own technology and open innovation and promote regional collaboration through innovation.

Trenders<6069> operates two business segments: the marketing business and the investment business. Among them, the marketing business, which accounts for 97.7% of revenue (fiscal year ending March 2024), is focused on two main areas: 'beauty marketing' and the new area of 'medical marketing.' Under this segment, the company has promoted its business by integrating beauty marketing solely into marketing solutions, and by merging brand media development and medical beauty into medical marketing, forming a dual-area structure. Through active M&A, Clemence Laboratory, which was established as a subsidiary in February 2022, tackles a wide range of tasks, including developing medical beauty treatments, conducting marketing consulting for clinics, developing and selling exclusively for clinics, and operating 'DOCTORS PICKS OnlineShop.' We have also completed a merger with CARAFUL, which uses TikTok creators to develop new promotional products and plan videos, expanding the business by operating with three companies in the group, including MimiTV, since April 2023.

1. Marketing business. The company has been expanding its business in three areas: marketing solutions for client companies, brand and media development - a new business - and medical beauty. However, from fiscal year ending March 2024, it will specialize marketing solutions for beauty marketing, and will unify brand and media development and medical beauty into medical marketing, making it a two-area structure. With its active M&A strategy, the company believes that its advantage lies in its ability to specialize in SNS media, and its ability to respond swiftly to requirements across the entire spectrum of treatment development to marketing consulting and exclusive product sales for clinics. The company is able to analyze the areas of strength of influencers based on independent social data, and network widely from power to micro by achieving high-level directing along the '17-steps', from planning to reporting while considering effectiveness with full risk management.

In beauty marketing, we offer the SNS beauty media service 'MimiTV.' Since starting up in 2015, we have gained support from those interested in beauty by early detecting trends in user information collection, and transmitting beauty information optimized for SNS with a total of 5.81 million followers (as of April 2024) primarily on Youtube, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, and LINE. We propose marketing strategies to achieve cosmetic reputation among 'cosmetic otaku' and 'SNS users.'

We also offer LIN, a social media marketing influencer service. This is used as an influencer service to analyze the areas of strength of influencers based on independent social data, and network widely from power to micro by achieving high-level directing along the 17-steps. In line with the shift in consumers' sources of beauty information gathering to SNS, the shift from mass advertising such as TV commercials and magazine ads to digital and SNS advertising for cosmetic brand advertisements has accelerated. Although the market share of major advertising agencies is significant, the company's demand is expanding. We believe that our strength lies in our focus on SNS and our streamlined structure, which enables us to respond in one go.

Regarding the 'Ouchi Gohan' dining arrangement media, which aims to provide ideas and information on products that make dining at home more enjoyable, our focus on the beauty category means that we are dedicating our management resources to that area, reducing the impact on profits. Since the designation of COVID-19 as a Category 5 infection and the normalization of economic activity, there has been a decrease in demand for mid-range meals, and efforts to actively invest resources are expected to be curbed until consumer needs begin to increase again.

In medical marketing, Clemence Laboratory produces the 'MAISONtheBEAUTY CLINIC' for beauty therapy and art makeup, which opened in Ginza in September 2022 and is operated by Ryocho-kai. In order to open the clinic, we have produced planning and development concepts, and will be introducing the service from fiscal year 2024 March period. This is expected to create demand for marketing consulting, not only in response to high-profile beauty surgery chains that are expanding nationwide, but also to differentiate from the competition. The strategy is for the company to work with the clinic towards opening and to share revenue at a later stage, with the aim of this being a long-term initiative. Therefore, it is expected that initial investment will continue for some time.

Trenders <6069> operates two business segments: the marketing business and the investment business. Among them, the marketing business, which accounts for 97.7% of revenue (fiscal year ending March 2024), is focused on two main areas: 'beauty marketing' and the new area of 'medical marketing.' Under this segment, the company has promoted its business by integrating beauty marketing solely into marketing solutions, and by merging brand media development and medical beauty into medical marketing, forming a dual-area structure. Through active M&A, Clemence Laboratory, which was established as a subsidiary in February 2022, tackles a wide range of tasks, including developing medical beauty treatments, conducting marketing consulting for clinics, developing and selling exclusively for clinics, and operating 'DOCTORS PICKS OnlineShop.' We have also completed a merger with CARAFUL, which uses TikTok creators to develop new promotional products and plan videos, expanding the business by operating with three companies in the group, including MimiTV, since April 2023.

In August 2023, Reprotec entered the field of regenerative medicine by forming a business alliance with Replic Tech, which is working on the development of next-generation gene expression vectors, contract manufacturing of vectors, and development of regenerative medicine such as cell therapy for ligaments. Reprotec began to evaluate the use of Replic Tech's unique stem cell culture supernatant for hair regeneration treatment at a private medical clinic, which is their business partner, from September of the same year. In the future, they plan to expand their business to the production of specialized clinics for hair regeneration treatment and wholesale of pharmaceuticals.

2. Investment business

Revenue accounts for 2.3% (fiscal year ending March 2024). They aim to grow by focusing on the beauty marketing field, and as particularly investing in the medical marketing field in the coming years, they do not include the investment business after the fiscal year ending March 2025 in their medium-term management goals.

(Writer: FISCO analyst Tomoichi Murase)