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The corporate mission of D-POPS GROUP Co., Ltd. (Shibuya, Tokyo; CEO: Kazuhiko Goto; referred to as “our group” from here on), is to multiply the number of growth companies (so-called “unicorn companies”) that will revolutionize society. In accordance with this, our group has concluded a capital and business alliance with The Salons Japan Inc. (Setagaya, Tokyo; CEO: Hidetoshi Shimizu; referred to as “The Salons Japan” from here on), which leases private salon studios for professional beauticians.   Background of the Capital and Business Alliance The Japanese government declared 2022 to be the "Year of Startup Creation" during its New Year’s press conference. Since 2017, our group has actively promoted the business strategies of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and corporate venture capital (CVC), growing into a large-scale organization with 19 group companies and 24 investment companies (at the time of publishing). While the government has been promoting efforts to foster startups, our group has focused on creating the stage, environment, and platforms to serve as fertile ground for those startups and venture companies to grow. Our group has entered into this business relationship with The Salons Japan—a company with the corporate motto of “true independence for beauticians”—in order to bolster the professional independence of beauty workers in Japan. Their company has been developing and operating “THE SALONS”, a leasing service for private salon studios with seven rental suites in the Tokyo area (at the time of publishing). By leveraging the real estate development expertise gained through the store expansion of our group’s founding company, D-POPS Corp., and by providing IT and human resources from within our Venture Ecosystem, we will support The Salons Japan's further growth through a robust business partnership built upon this capital and business alliance.     Comment from Hidetoshi Shimizu, President and CEO of The Salons Japan Inc. Since our founding in 2018, we have supported the independence of beauticians through “THE SALONS”, our leasing service for private salon studios. We are very pleased to welcome D-POPS GROUP Co., Ltd., as a new shareholder of our company. They are investing in various startup companies based on their vision of “creating a Venture Ecosystem that is indispensable to society”. We look forward to working together with them to revolutionize the beauty industry and contribute to society by building up the beauty industry ecosystem, according to our mission of improving the social status of beauticians.   Comment from Kazuhiro Goto, President and CEO of D-POPS GROUP Co., Ltd. We are very pleased to announce that we have entered into a capital alliance with The Salons Japan, adding a powerful new member to the Venture Ecosystem that we are promoting. The Salons Japan supports the independence of Japanese beauticians, and we are eager to back their grand mission of revolutionizing the beauty industry. We will provide full support by offering the real estate development know-how for acquiring the most prime locations cultivated by our founding business, D-POPS Corp., and by appointing our group’s advisor, Mr. Sugihara, to their board of directors. Our vision of establishing a Venture Ecosystem aims to support the growth of startups and contribute to society by providing a stage and environment that will serve as the fertile ground on which venture companies can flourish. We will continue to grow together with The Salons Japan, as they are led by President Shimizu, and strive to enhance their corporate value, as well.   Appointment of New Board Member As a result of this capital alliance, Mr. Genta Sugihara, an advisor to our group, will become a new member of The Salons Japan's Board of Directors as of July 16, 2024. Mr. Sugihara has a wide background and range of experience, including serving as a director at Google Japan and an executive officer at Kakaku.com, and we believe that he will be able to support The Salons Japan from a perspective outside of the beauty industry. Professional Background After working at CSK (now SCSK) and Daini Denden (now KDDI), Mr. Sugihara’s journey took him through various tech companies in Japan and abroad from 2000 onward, including AOL Japan, EMOBILE, and Napster, during their early and innovation phases. In 2007, he joined Google Japan, where he served as Head of APAC Business Development and spearheaded various business partnerships across Asia, contributing to the expansion of the search market share and the publishers' network. In 2016, he joined Kakaku.com, Inc., as an Executive Officer of the Corporate Strategy Division, where he was responsible for M&A and startup investment worldwide. After serving as the Japan Country Manager of AppsFlyer, an Israeli tech venture, he was appointed as an advisor to D-POPS GROUP in January 2024.   Comment from Sugihara Genta, Advisor to D-POPS GROUP Co., Ltd. and Newly-Appointed Board Member of The Salons Japan In the post-COVID era, there has been a renewed demand in the world for real-life contact. At D-POPS GROUP, our investment policy is to create a Venture Ecosystem based on the intersection of “Real World x People x Technology”. The Salons Japan, which operates a rental marketplace for private beauty studios to support beauticians who want to become independent, was therefore an ideal capital alliance and business partner. I met Kenji Kuboshima, the co-founder and board director of The Salons Japan, shortly after I joined Google as the person in charge of a key business partner. At that time, I was impressed by Mr. Kuboshima’s sincerity and business sense, and we have maintained a longstanding friendship since then. As a result of this meaningful connection, I am grateful and excited to have the opportunity to work together again, and I carry high expectations for the future of this collaboration.   What is “THE SALONS”? The company motto of The Salons Japan is “True independence for beauticians”, and accordingly, they develop and operate THE SALONS, a chain of private salon studios where beauticians can become professionally independent at low-risk, for only a monthly fee. They enable beauticians to keep reaching for the next level of success, and support their goals or prospects of having their own stores in the future. In Japan’s beauty industry, the current shift towards hairstylists and beauticians becoming freelancers is gaining momentum. However, opening a physical storefront still requires overcoming numerous obstacles. THE SALONS provides these professionals with opportunities to learn about store management and operation, and we hope it will be a foundational pathway and viable option for anyone who seeks independent business ownership. In order to support the independence of as many beauticians as possible, we plan to continue opening additional rental spaces into the future.   Company Profile Company Name: The Salons Japan Inc. Company President and CEO: Hidetoshi Shimizu Address: 2F Kid Ailack Building, 2-43-11 Matsubara, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo Established: November 30, 2018 Website: https://www.thesalons.co/   ☆The official press release for this investment in The Salons Japan is linked here (Japanese only): https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000004.000143719.html