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Reflecting major changes in the business environment and the growth of its role and responsibility in society, Lion Corporation has formulated a new long-term strategic framework, Vision2030, aiming to accelerate its evolution into a company that will continue to contribute to solving social issues through its businesses into the future.
The Lion Group has established the management vision “Becoming an advanced daily healthcare company” for 2030, driven by its purpose, “Make a difference in everyday lives by redesigning habits: ReDesign,” and is carrying out corporate activities to realize this vision.
In recent years, the social mission of the Group, which is closely involved in daily living, has become increasingly important in light of changes in behavioral patterns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the desire for a sustainable society in the face of climate change and other issues. The Group formulated the Vision2030 long-term strategic framework last year in order to accelerate its evolution into a company that strives to resolve social issues through the fulfillment of its purpose.
The Vision2030 long-term strategic framework is based on Lion’s purpose and comprises Lion’s management vision for 2030 and management strategies for achieving this vision.
By further evolving and developing its efforts to redesign habits—a form of healthcare Lion is uniquely positioned to address—Lion aims to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society and enhance its corporate value.
Lion will speed up business growth by advancing three growth strategies:
The Lion Group will offer healthcare that it is uniquely positioned to provide to more consumers, mainly in Asia. By doing so, the Group aims to make a difference in diverse aspects of daily living and, as a result, accelerate its business growth and enhance its presence in Asia. To this end, we have designated four fields where we provide value as growth drivers for the Lion Group going forward.
Oral Health
Evolving from oral care focused on the health of the mouth to oral healthcare that supports overall health and QOL from the mouth outward.
The links between oral hygiene and healthy life expectancy are becoming more
apparent all the time.
Lion aims to leverage its strengths as Japan’s leading oral care manufacturer to
integrate innovative oral care products and services into the daily lives of individuals
as a new form of healthcare. By doing so, we seek to realize business expansion beyond
the bounds of our existing businesses.
By providing a more specialized and personalized advanced oral healthcare platform (POHR*1), Lion aims to create new habits and thereby create new business opportunities, evolving from manufacturer to servicer through the proactive innovation of its business models.
*1Personal Oral Health Record
Infection Control
Evolving from a hand soap manufacturer that supports good hand washing habits to a hygiene solution provider that addresses all kinds of risk related to infectious disease.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a reexamination of hygiene-related practices, and new markets related to combating infectious disease are emerging. As a company with a long history of supporting cleanliness, Lion’s mission is to transform its business and to become a leader in hygiene solutions in Japan and throughout Asia.
Aiming for greater peace of mind throughout society, we will expand our business from living spaces to encompass public and industrial spaces, defending against bacteria and viruses on all fronts—bodies, objects and spaces—by providing hygiene solutions.
Smart Housework
Evolving from offering one-size-fits-all ideas for improving housework to creating new housework habits for diverse lifestyles.
As lifestyles and living situations diversify, one-size-fits-all ideas for
improving housework increasingly fall short of meeting consumer needs.
Lion has long focused closely on the daily lives of individuals and will use that
expertise to create new housework habits for diverse lifestyles and generate new
business opportunities.
Building on the basic concept of smart housework that is more fun and efficient, we will establish a unique edge by reframing housework generally to maximize authentic comfort at the individual level and by cooperating closely with external partners across a wide range of categories.
Well-Being
Evolving into a total healthcare servicer for the mind and body to enable consumers to maintain their health naturally and positively.
By enabling each individual to select prevention and treatment solutions for their specific needs, we aim to make it easier for everyone to maintain their health and find happiness every day with their families and communities.
We will transform into a total healthcare servicer that supports health and happiness at each life stage by building connections with consumers through habitual self-healthcare and by expanding the solutions we offer and integrating our services through collaboration with external partners.
We will promote business foundation transformation that will spur growth by continuing and reinforcing strategic investment.
We aim to transform to realize sustainable growth.
With promoting environmental initiatives for a sustainable planet and creating healthy living habits as our top-priority material issues, we will reinforce sustainability initiatives that realize synergies with our growth strategies.
Working toward the achievement of the management vision for 2030, we plan to carry out three consecutive three-year medium-term management plans in order to adapt to signs of change in the management environment and steadily implement our strategies. Within this framework, the Vision2030 1st STAGE medium-term management plan is the first phase, beginning in 2022. During this period of the plan, we will shift gears toward accelerated growth by implementing growth strategies and transforming our management base to achieve sales growth and EBITDA*2 expansion while helping to solve social issues through our business operations.
*2 EBITDA is an indicator of profitability on a cash basis that the Company uses to measure regular business performance, calculated as the sum of core operating income (gross profit minus selling, general and administrative expenses) and depreciation and amortization (excluding that of right-of-use assets as of 2022).
The Group has been working to improve profitability and has shifted to a management base that can reliably maintain a certain level of profitability by moving toward higher-added-value products and implementing structural reforms. Going forward, we aim to enhance our market, economic and social presence in order to have a bigger and more positive impact on society.
To achieve our management theme of enhancing our market, economic and social presence, we will focus on net sales growth and EBITDA expansion through the fulfillment of our purpose while using ROIC*3 management to improve the profitability and efficiency of invested capital. Specifically, in 2024 we aim to achieve net sales of ¥420 billion (for a compound annual growth rate of over 4%), EBITDA of ¥52 billion (a record high), ROIC of approximately 7.5% and ROE of approximately 9.0%.
*3 ROIC is an indicator calculated as net operating profit after tax (NOPAT) divided by the average invested capital (total equity plus interest bearing liabilities) during the period and measures the efficiency and profitability of the invested capital.
To realize the management vision for 2030, the Lion Group will synergistically address its Sustainability Material Issues and implement its three growth strategies, aiming to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society and achieve business growth.
Focusing on four fields of value creation (oral health, infection control, smart housework and well-being) that drive growth in the Lion Group, we will ambitiously work to evolve existing businesses and create new business models. By providing both functional and experience-based value, we aim to go beyond the boundaries of a manufacturer and contribute to the creation of better habits.
In particular, we will work to expand our overseas business, which will be important to achieving the vision for 2030. To this end, we will evolve our glocalization strategy*4 in Asia and reinforce our business in China, our most important overseas market, as well as other countries and areas where we have a presence. We aim to expand our presence in Asia by entering two or more new countries or areas by 2024.
*4 A strategy for creating a unique competitive advantage by integrating globalization and localization.
In addition to securing a steady return on the upfront investments made under the previous medium-term management plan, the LIVE Plan (2018–2020), we will focus on M&A as a way of strengthening necessary strategic investments to secure future growth and reinforce supply chain management, manufacturing infrastructure, digital technologies and sustainability. We will strengthen management control through ROIC management, application of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and the use of internal carbon pricing (ICP).
We will create dynamism to transform into a company that can grow sustainably by improving employee engagement through professional fulfillment reforms and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
With creating healthy living habits and promoting environmental initiatives for a sustainable planet as our top priority material issues, we will contribute to the realization of mental and physical health for all and a sustainable society by redesigning habits.
Through inclusive oral care*5 and other approaches, we will contribute to health, comfort and cleanliness in everyday living and longer healthy life expectancy.
*5 Initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities through oral care.
We will contribute to the realization of a decarbonized, resource-circulating society by promoting the formation of environmentally friendly habits together with consumers. In addition to further developing our environmentally friendly technologies, products and services, we will work with other industry actors and companies to develop water-saving habits, power-saving habits, refill habits and waste-free habits*6 that reduce environmental impact in the home, both in Japan and the rest of Asia.
*6 Creating habits to realize resource recycling through advanced recycling initiatives (infrastructure development, recycling technology, etc.)
By synergistically promoting the above sustainability strategies and three growth strategies, we expect to obtain more than ¥120 billion in cash over the three years of the plan, of which more than ¥80 billion will be used for future strategic investment and more than ¥30 billion will be returned to shareholders through dividends and the acquisition of treasury stock.
In the event that strategically important M&A or additional investment is required, we will flexibly raise funds, taking into consideration financial safety and weighted average cost of capital (WACC).
Please see the materials listed below for details.
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