Kitamura and Culture Convenience Club enter into capital and business alliance to create a new "photo market" that combines the real world and the internet and to propose "lifestyles"

2013.08.09 Press Releases
Kitamura Co., Ltd. / Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.

Kitamura Co., Ltd. (Head office: Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture; President and CEO: Hiroyuki Hamada; hereinafter "Kitamura") and Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Head office: Shibuya Ward, Tokyo; President and CEO: Muneaki Masuda; hereinafter "CCC") are pleased to announce that they have entered into a capital and business alliance as detailed below.

1. Kitamura has acquired 6,500 shares (19.50% of voting rights) of Shimauma Print System Co., Ltd. (Head office: Hioki City, Kagoshima Prefecture; Representative Director: Kazuhiko Nagayo; hereinafter "Shimauma") held by CCC, and has decided to jointly operate the company with CCC.
Kitamura holds the right of first refusal to purchase Shimauma's shares.

At the same time, for the purpose of acquiring Shimauma shares, we have agreed to carry out a third-party allotment of treasury shares to CCC as described below.

　■ Disposal of treasury stock through third-party allotment
　　(1) Date of disposal: August 27, 2013
　　(2) Number of shares to be disposed of: 1,000,000 shares

2. Kitamura is a chain of specialty stores that operates 1,300 stores nationwide under the name "Kitamura Camera" and "Studio Mario," and aims to provide services that pursue ways to enjoy photography that are in line with the times.
Furthermore, by providing services through both stores and e-commerce, we aim to gain the trust of customers who say, "For all your photography needs, come to Kitamura," and to become the number one company in the region.
In addition, our group owns one of Japan's leading photo developing labs, and we have built a wide-ranging photography platform.

Meanwhile, CCC is a planning company with a membership base of 46.02 million (active uniques) and proposes new lifestyles to customers through platforms such as 1,465 TSUTAYA stores nationwide, internet services "TSUTAYA DISCAS" and "TSUTAYA TV," and Japan's largest shared points service, "T-POINT."

3. In light of the business backgrounds of both companies, the two companies have decided to enter into a capital and business alliance in order to achieve Kitamura's medium-term management objectives, to create and revitalize a new photography market that combines the real world and the internet, and to improve customer satisfaction by proposing new lifestyles through photography.

　Kitamura's medium-term management objectives
　　(1) Expanding our share of the existing photography market
　　(2) Creating a new photography market in response to digitalization
　　(3) Reforming the profit structure

Materials related to this matter

Kitamura and Culture Convenience Club enter into capital and business alliance to create a new "photo market" that combines the real world and the internet and to propose "lifestyles"

Inquiries regarding this matter
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.
Public Relations Officer: Ando
TEL: 03-6800-4464