Current Endeavors
Our business environment is causing a serious impact on the Japanese economy and overseas economies due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 since 2020. Although the situation settled down from October 2021 due to the progress of vaccination and measures taken by countries, there are concerns over the resurgence of COVID-19 with the appearance of new variants, and it will still be difficult to make forecasts in the future. Therefore, COVID-19 infection prevention measures as well as countermeasures eyeing post-COVID-19 and with-COVID-19 societies under the development and spread of effective medicine have become an urgent issue. In addition to various social issues including global warming, the declining birthrate and aging population, decrease in population, gender issues and issues of disparity, DX is being pursued in various fields with progress in digital technology such as IoT and AI, and we are in a business environment in which competition is further intensifying and sustainable growth of companies is constantly questioned with competition intensifying such as cross-industry competition, change in customer behavior, and change in values.
In order to sustainably improve corporate value and contribute to society under this environment of rapid diversification and change, we, as the ES-CON JAPAN Group, need to adopt a new flexible idea not bound by precedent and established concepts, implementing a policy of consistently supplying excellent products, maintaining a firm financial base, conducting stable management, growing surely and steadily through the satisfaction of our customers, and aiming to be a “life developer” bringing the ideal into reality and creating a lifestyle with the happiness of those living it as our top priority.
Through a multifaceted real estate business that includes residential development, commercial development, logistics development, leasing business, office development, hotel development, overseas business, planning/consulting, facility operation management, asset management, columbarium business, and real estate crowdfunding, our goal is to become a one-of-a-kind company that always strikes the optimal balance of businesses in its operations, builds a firm management base that can withstand any economic environment, maximizes its corporate value, and increases shareholder returns.
Our specific endeavors are the following:
(1) Business Management Structure
Naturally, there is a limit to land prices that can fetch certain profit, so purchasing at appropriate prices is one of our most important tasks. In order to purchase good-quality land, we must secure and nurture talented personnel, constantly expand information channels, seek alliance with other companies and make quick, bold but also careful decisions.
Based on the industry characteristic of a tendency toward larger balances of borrowings, we expect a disparity with planned income to arise amid increased interest rates, so we need to reduce procurement costs, diversify procurement methods, improve cashflow and continue building a stronger financial standing. We will continue to focus on strengthening our financial standing to ensure steady management in any economic environment.
(2) Internal Organizational Reinforcement
We are working to become a "life developer" that shapes the very lives of residents. In our condominiums, our strength is taking the perspective of the customer, especially families, and embarking on projects that not only meet their needs in the present but also conduct layout and design matching the location and environment, creating customer needs, in pursuit of livability for the future.
As for commercial development, we are mainly developing everyday life-based retail facilities that are closely associated with their local communities.
In the most recent period, we are also focusing on the development of rental apartments as well as planning and development of luxury apartments in resorts by utilizing the planning ability and know-how cultivated in the planning and development of condominiums.
No two properties are alike in form or location. Our mission is to propose and provide not only forms and locations but also the ideal housing, ideal areas and ideal living environments in the eyes of those who live in the area as well as in our residences, etc. and those who use facilities, etc., so to us, we do not merely create spaces in which we live and spaces for facilities, propose and live richer lives. The ES-CON JAPAN Group aims to become a “life developer” that proposes better, richer living.
Our development concept is to not only provide specifications and designs that can easily be customized but also constantly ask ourselves, "What is the best plan for this project?" instead of focusing on the size of the project or number of units at the land acquisition stage or even the basic planning stage.
For this reason, when promoting condominium development projects, our system unites those in charge of purchasing, planning and sale as one in a project from start to finish. This system is our strength and we will preserve a sense of crisis in order to maintain and enhance the system so that it can retain dominance in any business environment.
(3) New Business
We have set and comply with NOI standards that enable possession of our acquisitions and developments regardless of economic changes.
Our real estate development business is not limited to development of condominiums and commercial facilities. In recent years, we are working on logistics facility development in light of the growth of the e-commerce market, office development and land planning business that revitalizes communities as well as rental apartment business which remains strong even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, overseas investment business, columbarium business and real estate crowdfunding business. We will aim for the diversification of business eyeing the next generation.
In our real estate securitization business, our consolidated subsidiary ES-CON Asset Management is managing a public REIT (EJR) whose main assets are land with leasehold rights and everyday life-based retail facilities. In the most recent period, we formed multiple private funds whose main assets are rental apartments, and are also conducting initiatives with the intent to form private REITs.
In the real estate leasing business, focus will continue to be placed on the stabilization of rent structure, including the implementation of M&As of companies positioning leasing business as the main business, to prioritize leasing business for “Transforming the focus from flows to stock,” which is the basic management strategy policy in the fourth medium-term management plan.
Furthermore, after becoming a consolidated subsidiary of Chubu Electric Power in April 2021, our creditworthiness improved and the diversification of financing method and reduction of financing cost became possible. We are steadily demonstrating synergy effects, such as further business expansion in the Chubu region and the commencement of multiple joint businesses with the Chubu Electric Power Group. We aim to realize a “new form of community” by combining our know-how on urban development and Chubu Electric Power Group’s knowledge on energy management, and will also be engaged in large-scale redevelopments in central Tokyo and near stations and large-scale urban developments.
In addition to developing real estate, ES-CON PROPERTY, a consolidated subsidiary, focuses on property management business to further add value to real estate, and, in order to solidify our position as the only general developer with the operational capability suited to the function of the real estate, our consolidated subsidiary ES-CON Living Service will expand the breadth and depth of our development capabilities by enhancing real estate operation.
As an initiative eyeing the next generation, we promoted overseas investment business and sales business of the permanent use rights of urban columbarium as well as implemented M&A of companies engaged in real estate crowdfunding business in the most recent period.
(4) Medium- to Long-Term Initiatives
We will strengthen “Promotion of ESG” which is one of the management strategies in “IDEAL to REAL 2023,” the fourth medium-term management plan that is currently being promoted. We believe that nation-wide initiatives on climate change, such as the new target for greenhouse gas emission reduction for 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2050, are important issues in terms of management also for the ES-CON JAPAN Group. In addition, we aim to enhance management transparency and fairness and become a company performing reliable governance as well as contribute also to society through efforts such as regional revitalization.
We will also implement initiatives on SDGs, which are sustainable development targets, with a strong will.
The ES-CON JAPAN Group, which provides cities, residences and space where people live, promotes a vibrant environment where various people can select many kinds of lifestyles, work styles and way of living and safely live a lively life as well as sustainable urban development with high environmental performance. We will also create a working environment respecting human rights and where various personnel can succeed as well as strengthen health management, fulfill the social responsibilities of companies, and aim to realize a sustainable society.