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February 17, 2009
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License Agreement with Sanrio Shanghai Signed and Photo Studio
Business Started in China
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Noritsu Koki Co., Ltd., (headquartered in Umehara, Wakayama-city) starts a new project as a solution provider in the imaging business. Shanghai Noritsu Studio Service Co., Ltd., was established as a subsidiary of Noritsu (Shanghai) Photofinishing Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Noritsu Koki, to create a new photography culture in the Chinese market. The new company started the Hello Kitty Studio (shop name) in a promising photo studio market.
Website: www.hellokittystudio.com/
Establishment of the photo studio business by Noritsu will contribute to the overall development of the photo studio market in China and will generate the synergistic effect of re-energizing existing photo studios through proposals of this new business to our main customers like minilabs.
The wedding photo studio business has been established as a dominant player in the Chinese market. The photo studio business for children is currently expanding on a nationwide basis and regarded as a promising future market.
The Hello Kitty Studio business was realized from a license agreement with Sanrio Shanghai International Trading Co., Ltd., which is a consolidated subsidiary of Sanrio Company, Ltd., (headquartered in Osaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, and headed by Shintaro Tsuji, CEO). By making the best use of the charm of character brands like Hello Kitty, the company aims to establish a new style of photo studio targeting a wide variety of people in China from children to adults, re-energizing the photo printing market and maximizing business profits in the Chinese market.
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| 1. |
Outline of the New Company |
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| Company name： |
Shanghai Noritsu Studio Service Co., Ltd. |
| Headquarters： |
483 Xinhualu, Shanghai |
| President： |
Takayuki Masutani (also serving as president of Noritsu (Shanghai) Photofinishing Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) |
| Established： |
November 28, 2008 (studio starts operation on February 18, 2009) |
| Capital： |
RMB 9,400,000 |
| Number of employees： |
39 |
| Stockholders： |
wholly owned by Noritsu (Shanghai) Photofinishing Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. |
| Business： |
Management of photo studios, photo processing, and retail stores |
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| 2. |
Reasons for Starting the Photo Studio Business |
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The number of marriages in China remains stable at around eight million per annum. The couples take photos as an important commemorative event in their life at studios where professional staff uses a variety of photography equipment, changing the settings or pausing the natural posture to produce an album. Wedding photos have taken root in society as a culture. Recently, more young women take photos at such studios to produce their own fashionable album as a memorable event.
There is a custom in China where parents take commemorative photos of their baby before the first birthday. As the country’s one-child policy is still effective and the people’s income increases, the amount of money spent for one child is increasing and the needs for personalized commemorative photos for children is growing.
In the photo studio market, Noritsu will promote the business targeting children and the young generation, since it is expected to expand, to accelerate the development of the market and to expand the photo output market as well as the market for equipment sales, which is our main staple, as its synergy effect.
The photo studio we propose for the market has an upscale image of wedding photo studios and is a substantial photo studio in a new style focusing on elegance and fashion. The direction of the brand image Sanrio wants to promote in the Chinese market and Noritsu’s product concept are a perfect marriage, and therefore the two signed a license agreement. The shop was named Hello Kitty Studio to raise consumer awareness in this huge market at the earliest stage, and it will be promoted as a photo studio brand.
We will expand the business and energize the Chinese photo market, searching for opportunities for multiple store operations based on the characteristics of the region and of chain store development by utilizing the Noritsu network in this industry, while carefully watching how the awareness of Hello Kitty Studio increases as well as consumer trends. |
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| 3. |
Future Prospect |
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The effect on Noritsu’s business results made by the start of the new photo studio business by our subsidiary will be made public as soon as it is identified. |
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