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Global Business Expansion under the ALL BANDAI NAMCO Concept NOBUHIKO MOMOI Director General Manager Group Business Strategy Department Bandai Namco Holdings Inc.

Mission of the Group Business Strategy Department: Resolving cross-organizational issues

In accordance with the spirit of autonomy and independence, the Bandai Namco Group’s Units, businesses, and companies implement initiatives that demonstrate their individual characteristics. Our mission as the Group Business Strategy Department is to address issues related to deepening collaboration between Units, businesses, and regions, as well as other cross-organizational issues that occur, from a Groupwide perspective and lead the way with improvements to such issues. In the two years since the department’s establishment, we have tackled a broad range of issues within the Group. To accelerate our global expansion moving forward, it is imperative that we build an environment in which all business companies can play an active role. This in turn will support growth on a Groupwide basis. To realize our long-term target of an overseas sales ratio of 50%, we will systematically address issues occurring across the Group so that we can demonstrate our comprehensive strengths under the ALL BANDAI NAMCO concept, thereby promoting the Group’s global business expansion.

FY2024.3 result Overseas sales ratio: 27.8% Long-term goal Overseas sales ratio: 50%

Initiatives to develop human resources

NOBUHIKO MOMOIOne of the most important foundational initiatives we undertake is developing producers who make creations from scratch. We utilize the Bandai Namco Content Fund (BNCF) to develop producers. The BNCF was established in 2018 to facilitate the Group’s active investment and production of visual works and other content that yield IPs, over the long term and from the perspective of optimization. Although the BNCF has thus far focused primarily on visual works,
I have taken steps to change the direction of the fund to include products such as toys and games as IP, expanding beyond visual content. Additionally, until now the BNCF has operated by soliciting works through an open application process. However, we are now using the fund to identify talent with creative and innovative ideas from within the Group, supporting their creations through investment and thereby nurturing their development. When personnel supported by the BNCF return to their respective departments and positively influence those around them, this helps inspire new candidates to receive support from the BNCF. We believe that setting into motion this type of virtuous cycle enhances the level of our personnel Groupwide.
It is also important that we nurture global managerial personnel who are directly involved in our global business expansion. Currently, we are conducting business operations in cooperation with management personnel dispatched from Japan and local managerial personnel. Through this process, our local talent has grown steadily, including their understanding of the theme of exporting Japanese culture. Looking ahead, we aim to achieve further growth by having developed local talent play a more central role in management, training young employees seconded from Japan, and establishing a cycle that allows us to advance business operations on an entirely local basis. By generating professional development synergies in this way, we will enhance employee skill levels across our organization and achieve sustainable growth.

Progress with the Data Universe concept

After several years of work, we have nearly completed the foundational system for the Data Universe concept, which involves a platform for Groupwide data integration. Going forward, it will be important to consider how we use this system to have a positive impact on our performance.
First, as a licensee that rolls out products and services after receiving permission from the rights holders, we will use the Data Universe during various negotiations and discussions to present data such as the age of fans, the types of products fans buy, and how fans use the products they purchase. This will allow us to demonstrate our strong understanding of IPs and their fans, thereby building robust, trust-based relationships with the rights holders. In addition, we have adopted outlet strategies that utilize various business domains. The ability to aggregate data on fan behavior and preferences in each outlet and combine such data to conduct analyses provides us with a major strength in promoting our IP axis strategy. Meanwhile, we can also use the Data Universe to analyze data on our own IPs from various perspectives. We will use this data as marketing information for development, sales, and regional expansion when out-licensing. Using data in this way should also help us enhance the Group’s product planning and marketing, and we will verify the effectiveness of this approach in preparation for the next Mid-term Plan.
From a medium- to long-term perspective, the Data Universe will allow us to consolidate and analyze various data scattered across the Group to enhance the accuracy of our forecasts. Under the next Mid-term Plan, we will aim to use such data more effectively.
However, as data collection categories differ between businesses, it is crucial that we establish master data that is standardized on a Groupwide basis. Medium- to long-term efforts will be required to establish standardized master data, but we aim to realize such master data while considering the interests and concerns of each business and Unit from the perspective of Groupwide optimization.

Contribution to Group growth through borderless, cross-organizational activities

For me, there are no borders between efforts to resolve issues in Japan and efforts to resolve issues overseas. Cross-organizational initiatives are directly connected to and have a major impact on global business expansion. I frequently travel overseas to maintain close interaction with the management of overseas Group companies and deepen the connections between Japan and our overseas locations and between overseas locations themselves. Our current Mid-term Plan positions North America and China as key areas. I personally believe there is massive potential for future growth in Central and South America, starting with Mexico. To expand our business in these regions, we believe that sustainable growth is achievable by cultivating local managerial talent to take a leading role in business development, building a structure that supports their growth, and effectively implementing strategies based on a thorough understanding of our positioning within the local economic sphere.

Lastly, one major activity for the Group Business Strategy Department in FY2025.3 will be the pavilion exhibit at Expo 2025 in Osaka. Entitled GUNDAM NEXT FUTURE PAVILION, this exhibit will focus on the theme of creating the future for Gundam and humankind. Through this pavilion and the Gundam IP itself, our greatest aim is to get children interested in outer space and science. While there are many difficulties to overcome in operating this pavilion, we will strive to ensure its success. 
In these ways, we view the resolution of various issues across the Group under the ALL BANDAI NAMCO concept as our mission, and we will make every effort possible to achieve this mission.

Diorama of GUNDAM NEXT FUTURE PAVILION
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