Seiko Group Corporation
Director, Chairman, Group CEO, and Group CCO
Shinji Hattori
As of October 1, 2022, Seiko Holdings Corporation changed its name to Seiko Group Corporation. By strengthening the Group's integrated corporate strength and shifting toward a management style that actively connects our Group companies, we are transforming our business into a sustainable management structure that addresses social issues as well as serving our customers. We are generating synergies among our various operating companies and growing together as one team – not by simply combining our diverse individual strengths, but by multiplying their power to produce a far greater combined energy.
As a structure to drive this growth strategy, we have established three strategic domains: the Emotional Value Solutions Domain, the Device Solutions Domain, and the System Solutions Domain. By operating via these three strategic domains, we aim to both contribute to resolving a wide range of social issues and achieve sustainable growth as a Group.
The vision compass guiding our transformation into a solutions company is the official Statement of Purpose:
“As a company trusted by society, we will
constantly pursue innovation, inspiring people
everywhere, and creating a future full of smiles.”
We believe that helping to create a bright future for the next generation (“creating a future full of smiles”) is an essential role for all of us here today.
Our new Mid-Term Management Plan, called Seiko Milestone 145, or SMILE145 for short, was announced in May of 2022. Its main message is for us to become a socially aware "solutions company" rather than simply a hardware and software sales company serving customers.
Our founder, Kintaro Hattori, understood that Japan's transition from its old, irregular system of timekeeping to a modern, regular system marked a sea change in Japan’s social and commercial development. He also saw that this shift brought with it a need for people to have access to accurate time information — that is, society needed dependable instruments to tell the time. His response was to start a business to provide just such devices.
Over 140 years have passed since he established the K. Hattori & Co. watch and clock store, and today's business environment is something that he could not have imagined. The world around us continues to change at ever-greater scale and speed. In this uncertain era, our Group aims to honor Kintaro’s spirit by becoming a solutions company that responds to emerging social needs. For our Group, aspiring to be a solutions provider is both a return to our 19th century roots and a challenge to embrace a 21st century transformation amid a rapidly changing world.
In the first year of SMILE145, we achieved tangible results, but we also became aware of many challenges. Our successful transformation into a solutions company involves improving profitability while at the same time shifting our focus towards businesses that contribute to society. That’s no easy task! And yet, I am confident that we can achieve both goals. Always bearing the Group's Purpose in mind, we will deepen our dialogue with stakeholders, and strive to be “one step ahead of the times.” We remain committed to the constant pursuit of innovation and the creation of a future filled with smiles worldwide. We will continue to create memorable, inspirational moments for all stakeholders as we steadily advance towards our 150th anniversary and beyond.
We look forward with pride and pleasure to your continued support.
Seiko Group Corporation
Director, President, and Group COO
Shuji Takahashi
In 2022, our Group launched a new Mid-Term Management Plan called Seiko Milestone 145, or SMILE145 for short — because this five-year plan runs to FY2026, the 145th anniversary of our founding.
We are acutely aware that our business is caught in a time of rapid, destabilizing change, a period widely referred to as VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous). In recent years, uncertainty in the business environment has increased tremendously. We must respond to these changes flexibly, and rapidly implement new strategies to ensure stability.
From a longer-term perspective, this Mid-Term Plan aims for sustainable growth, both by increasing our earnings results and by working together with the societies in which we operate, to build a better future.
The Mid-Term Plan was formulated by backcasting from the Group's 10-year vision. We will use this approach of “looking backwards from our successful future” to accomplish each task along that path and achieve our mid-term goals by FY2026.
By 2026, we aim to become
“A solutions company that offers
high-added-value products and
services that create excitement and
generate substantial profits.”
The basic policy of SMILE145 incorporates a strategy we call MVP: Moving (emotional), Valuable (high value-added), and Profitable (returning high profits). To become a solutions company, we need MVP products and services that are not only competitive, but also have substantial growth potential.The goal of the MVP strategy is to address societal challenges while improving profitability. By contributing to the resolution of societal issues, the products and services created by our group gain recognition for their value, ensuring high profitability as valuable entities. This, in turn, leads to sustainable corporate growth.
To achieve the dual objectives of addressing societal challenges and improving profitability, we will continue to innovate and create new MVP products and services. Additionally, as key initiatives for the overall growth of the business, we position five areas as group core strategies: SDGs activities, talent development, enhancement of engagement with employees, acceleration of DX (Digital Transformation) to achieve innovation, and strengthening of research and development (R&D), as well as branding activities.
We will continue to advance matrix management by combining these domain-specific business strategies with group core strategies.
Our new name, Seiko Group Corporation, reflects our desire to further strengthen our Group’s internal ties and to better connect with our stakeholders. Our official Statement of Purpose says: "As a company trusted by society, we will constantly pursue innovation, inspiring people everywhere, and creating a future full of smiles." With this goal in mind, our Group will promote sustainability management by working together to realize an inclusive and recycling-oriented society. We look forward to your continued support.