Notice regarding investment in Futaba Tosho Co., Ltd. (new company) and TSUTAYA franchise agreement

2021.01.28 Press Releases
Tsutaya Bookstore Co., Ltd.

Tsutaya Bookstore Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo / President and CEO: Masuda Muneaki / hereinafter referred to as "TSUTAYA") will invest in Futaba Books Co., Ltd. (Head office: Nishi-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture / President and CEO: Yokoyama Jun / hereinafter referred to as "Futaba Books"), a new company (the trade name will be retained) that will take over the main business of the Futaba Books Group, through the "Hometown Collaboration Support Fund Investment Business Limited Partnership" operated by Hiroshima Innovation Promotion Organization Co., Ltd. on March 1, 2021. In addition, Takeshi Dobashi, Deputy General Manager of TSUTAYA FC Headquarters, will be dispatched to Futaba Books as COO.

The new company, Futaba Tosho Co., Ltd., will aim to grow through joint investment with the Hometown Collaboration Support Fund Investment Limited Partnership, Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Co., Ltd., TSUTAYA, Momiji Bank Ltd., Edion Co., Ltd., and Hiroshima Mazda Co., Ltd.

TSUTAYA has opened bookstores across the country and created stores that are rooted in the local community. In addition, the company has been promoting "publishing distribution reform" and has implemented various initiatives to generate optimal profits for all stakeholders in the publishing industry, aiming to enable publishers to continue to publish a wide variety of publications and to continue delivering these to many customers through bookstores in a shrinking market.

With this investment, TSUTAYA and Futaba Shoten will enter into a TSUTAYA franchise agreement that covers both the book and rental businesses.
By working together to operate the store, Futaba Tosho, a long-established bookstore founded in 1913 and operating mainly in Hiroshima Prefecture, and TSUTAYA, will be able to further utilize the bookstore management know-how, abundant human resources, and trusting relationships with customers that Futaba Tosho has cultivated over the years, and by combining this with TSUTAYA's unique database, marketing, and planning capabilities and the resources and intellectual capital of the CCC Group, they will accelerate the creation of a bookstore that proposes a new lifestyle that is valuable to customers, and create opportunities for customers to encounter high-quality works.

Please also refer to the press release posted on the Hiroshima Innovation Promotion Organization website.

[New Company Overview]
Company name: Futaba Books Co., Ltd.
Head office address: 2-5-20 Kannonhonmachi, Nishi-ku, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture (planned)
Representative: Representative Director and President (CEO) Jun Yokoyama (scheduled to take office on March 1, 2021)
Established: November 2020 (Founded: September 1913)
Capital: 50 million yen (planned)

Materials related to this matter

Notice regarding investment in Futaba Tosho Co., Ltd. (new company) and TSUTAYA franchise agreement

Inquiries regarding this matter
Tsutaya Bookstore Co., Ltd. Public Relations
03-6800-4764