In May 2025, MARUI GROUP announced our vision and strategy for 2031, which will mark the 100th anniversary of our group’s founding – “Management Vision & Strategy Narrative 2031”.

The turbulent times we live in are characterized by VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity), and formulating a typical medium-term management plan is no longer a realistic approach. However, setting out a “vision” for our desired destination will allow us to take steps towards realizing that vision while adapting to changes, irrespective of what the future brings.

Our aim is to realize “an economy driven by interests”.

An economy driven by interests is an economy of new possibilities that is not merely an extension of previous ways of doing things. It is a different type of economy that differs from the current model.
An economy driven by interests is a competing economic vision to a “cost performance economy”, which is defined along the two axes of functions and prices. Whereas a cost performance economy pursues fierce cost competition, the driving force behind an interests-driven economy lies in the emotions and values of every individual, or in other words their “interests”. This is what we mean by “an economy driven by interests”.

In order to realize this vision, MARUI GROUP will shift towards businesses that support interests. Until now, we have defined our business in terms of segments and functions based on the three axes of “retail, fintech, and co-creative investments”. As we move forward, we will make use of our know-how in retail, fintech and co-creative investments, and deploy assets such as stores and credit cards, in order to commercialize interests-supporting businesses that place individuals’ interests at their core.

The goal of interests-supporting business is for consumption that initially benefits individuals through their interests to go on to benefit others, and ultimately benefit society, thereby realizing both positive social impacts and generating earnings.
In interests-supporting credit card business, we have already received passionate support from our customers for credit cards that allow them to donate to their “interests” by using their card. Examples include the HERALBONY Card, Pet Card, and Museum Card, and these cards are becoming increasingly popular.

In addition to credit cards, other interests-supporting businesses include events and goods. Interests-supporting events allow us to utilize the planning and operational know-how that MARUI GROUP has accumulated by hosting events at stores and external locations. Through our interests-supporting goods business, we are able to utilize the know-how acquired from planning, manufacturing and selling private brands.
Looking ahead, MARUI GROUP will use this know-how to develop business in ways that combine events, goods and credit cards. From there, we will continue to attract customers from across Japan and around the world.

At the same time, we will make use of our employees’ interests in their work. So far, we have held our Contest Supporting Interests on two occasions (as of September 2025), and our employees have proposed business ideas based on their individual interests. Awards have been received not just by our full-time employees, but by a wide range of participants, including part-time staff, an engineer who joined our company mid-career, and students on long-term internships. We have since started working to implement their ideas.
The Museum Card is one successful example that resulted from the Contest.

We plan to open the Contest to participants from outside MARUI GROUP. By collecting outstanding ideas and attracting passionate participants from around the world, we aim to realize growth in our interests-supporting businesses. Moreover, by allowing a variety of employment patterns, including joining MARUI GROUP as a new graduate or mid-career hire, promoting a side business, or entering a long-term internship, we aim to facilitate the involvement of Contest winners in projects that create business in their own areas of interest.

In this way, MARUI GROUP will evolve into a company that supports efforts to create businesses based on individuals’ interests. If you have an interest that you would like to turn into a business, or you would like to use an interest to achieve positive social impacts while generating earnings, you are very welcome to get involved!