ファーストリテイリングのMVV分析 - Fast Retailing: 18.2% Recycled Materials Reflect 'LifeWear's Evolution

Key Metrics at a Glance

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A Leap in ESG Metrics Underpinning LifeWear's Evolution

FAST RETAILING's Fiscal Year 2024 data clearly demonstrates that the company's 'LifeWear' philosophy has evolved from a mere product concept into the core of its management, integrating business and sustainability. The most symbolic figure is the sharp increase in the ratio of recycled materials in all materials used. From 8.5%^¹ in Fiscal Year 2023, it more than doubled to 18.2%^² in Fiscal Year 2024. This leap can be interpreted not merely as an environmental consideration, but as a strong commitment to structural transformation involving the entire supply chain. Particularly for polyester, one of the company's main materials, the usage ratio of recycled materials has reached 47.4%^³, indicating that efforts to reduce environmental impact are materializing at the product level.

This transformation is closely linked to the vision of an 'Information Manufacturing Retailer'^⁴. The philosophy of producing and selling only the necessary quantity of products that customers truly want curbs waste from overproduction. In addition, by transitioning the product materials themselves to sustainable alternatives, FAST RETAILING is tackling the apparel industry's structural challenges from both the 'responsibility to produce' and the 'responsibility to consume'. The 18.2%^² recycled material ratio can be seen as concrete evidence that the company has taken a significant step towards creating a 'new industry'.

On the other hand, while specific disclosure data on human capital is limited, the company's philosophy indicates its direction. The 'Global One, All-Members Management'^⁵ policy encourages every employee to adopt a managerial perspective. Behind the global establishment of clothing collection activities at stores, it can be inferred that this philosophy has permeated at the operational level, with employees viewing sustainability initiatives as 'their own responsibility'. However, without objective metrics such as the ratio of female managers or employee engagement, it is difficult to gauge the true depth of this 'all-members management'. While significant progress has been made in ESG, particularly in the environmental (E) domain, more extensive disclosure in the social (S) and governance (G) areas will be a future challenge.

"Changing Clothes, Changing Conventional Wisdom, Changing the World" — The Philosophy Embodied in LifeWear

At the core of FAST RETAILING's management lies the unwavering corporate philosophy: "Changing Clothes, Changing Conventional Wisdom, Changing the World"^⁶. This is not merely a slogan, but a compass that directs all business activities. It is the 'LifeWear' concept that elevates this grand philosophy into tangible, relatable value for customers.

LifeWear is defined as "ultimate everyday wear"^⁷, aiming to enrich the lives of all people^⁸. Underpinning this is the spirit of "MADE FOR ALL"^⁹, which respects all forms of diversity, including race, gender, age, and religion. This philosophy leads to the belief that providing high-quality, long-lasting clothing ultimately promotes a departure from the disposable culture and contributes to the realization of a sustainable society^¹⁰.

Looking at Fiscal Year 2024 data, this philosophy has further expanded into the value of "PEACE FOR ALL"^¹¹. This idea of contributing to a peaceful future through clothing demonstrates the company's strong will that business activities themselves should be a form of social contribution. The mission^¹² to contribute to enriching people's lives through corporate activities and aim for harmonious development with society is consistently embodied through the LifeWear concept, extending to products, stores, and employee actions. This consistency between philosophy and concept is the greatest driving force for the company to gain customer support globally and aim to become "the most beloved No.1 brand by customers worldwide"^¹³.

The "Information Manufacturing Retailer" Weaves Together Sustainability and Business Growth

FAST RETAILING's strength lies in its ability to translate grand philosophies into concrete business models. At its core is the unique business model of an "Information Manufacturing Retailer"^⁴. This model aims to optimize processes from planning, production, logistics, to sales, starting with customer feedback, to "create, transport, and sell only the products truly needed, at the right time, and in the necessary quantities"^⁴. This model is a direct solution to long-standing challenges in the apparel industry such as excess inventory and waste, and can be called a blueprint for balancing business profitability and sustainability.

Building upon this business model, the company's environmental strategy is accelerating. The fact that the recycled material usage ratio doubled to 18.2%^² in Fiscal Year 2024 is proof that this model is functioning effectively. By accurately grasping customer needs and controlling production volumes, resources can be allocated to more challenging sustainability initiatives, such as experimenting with new materials and collaborating with suppliers. The introduction of renewable energy is also part of this, with the ratio of renewable energy in electricity consumption at stores and offices reaching 67.6%^¹⁴ as of Fiscal Year 2023.

Furthermore, the company is expanding its business framework from production and sales to subsequent recycling and reuse, aiming to realize a "circular economy for clothing"^¹⁵. This is an attempt to rethink the LifeWear concept across the entire product lifecycle, leading to the vision of creating a "new industry"^¹⁶. This strategy, which views business growth and the resolution of social issues as inseparable, has the potential to evolve the value of LifeWear from "ownership" to "utilization" and "circulation", becoming a source of sustainable growth.

"All-Members Management" Supports Sustainability — Connecting Philosophy and Operations

FAST RETAILING advocates "Global One, All-Members Management"^⁵, encouraging every employee to demonstrate leadership. This fact data does not include quantitative metrics related to human capital, such as the ratio of female managers or employee engagement scores. However, it is not difficult to imagine that this philosophy of "all-members management" strongly underpins the company's sustainability initiatives, especially those originating from stores.

Symbolic of this is the "RE.UNIQLO" initiative, which collects unwanted products from customers. The success of this global initiative is crucially dependent on store staff understanding the significance of the activities and proactively engaging in communication with customers. The founding philosophy, "The store exists for the customer, and thrives with its staff"^¹⁷, positions store staff not just as salespeople, but as vital hubs connecting customers, the brand, and society. By functioning as sustainability ambassadors, activities like clothing collection can become company-wide movements.

However, to objectively evaluate the penetration of this philosophy, qualitative sharing of principles alone is insufficient. Specific disclosure of human capital information, such as D&I-related metrics showing whether an environment is in place for diverse talent to truly thrive, and engagement data indicating employee motivation, will be essential as the next step to gain trust from investors and customers and become "the company most needed in the world"^¹⁸. Demonstrating through data that the "all-members management" philosophy is truly realized across the entire organization, not just by a few talented individuals, will be a crucial challenge moving forward.

The "Power of Clothing" Embodied in 58.97 Million Donated Items

FAST RETAILING's social contribution activities are at a remarkable level in terms of their scale and continuity. The philosophy of "Changing Clothes, Changing Conventional Wisdom, Changing the World"^⁶ is delivered to society through concrete actions. At its core is the activity of donating clothes collected from customers to refugees, internally displaced persons, and others. The number of donated items in Fiscal Year 2024 totaled 58.97 million^¹⁹. This figure indicates that it is an unparalleled large-scale support activity made possible by the company's global store network and strong connections with customers.

Specifically, the "The Heart of LifeWear" initiative planned for Fiscal Year 2024 includes the donation of a total of 1.06 million Heattech items^²⁰. Of these, approximately half, or 0.53 million items^²¹, are earmarked for refugees and internally displaced persons, who are estimated to number 120 million worldwide^²². This clearly demonstrates the company's intention to leverage the functionality of Heattech, one of its core products, as the "power of clothing" to protect people's lives and dignity.

These activities are not merely charity. "Supporting communities and contributing to society"^²³ is integrated as part of the company's business model. The act of customers bringing unwanted clothes to stores transforms them into participants in sustainability activities, and also has the effect of enhancing brand engagement. The philosophy of creating a better society through business^²⁴ is shared with customers through such concrete brand actions, giving profound meaning and trust to the LifeWear philosophy.

Analyzing Year-on-Year Changes — Trajectory from 2023 to 2025

Metric	2023	2024	Change	Analysis
Overall Recycled Material Usage Ratio	8.5% ^¹	18.2% ^²	+9.7 pp	More than doubled in just one year. This clearly indicates that the sustainability strategy has been positioned as a top management priority and has moved into the implementation phase across the entire supply chain. The fact that it's reflected in concrete results, not just goal setting, is highly commendable.
Recycled Polyester Usage Ratio	30.0% ^²⁵	47.4% ^³	+17.4 pp	Rapid progress is being made in recycling polyester, a key material. Nearly half has been replaced by recycled materials, suggesting that technical challenges have been overcome and a mass production system established. This is a significant advancement that directly contributes to GHG emission reductions.
Renewable Energy Procurement Ratio	67.6% ^²⁶	No data	-	While a high level was achieved in 2023, the absence of 2024 data prevents an assessment of the trend. The focus going forward will be to increase this ratio closer to 100% to achieve GHG emission reduction targets for Scope 1 and 2.

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LifeWear's Commitment Fulfillment — The Gap Between Philosophy and Reality

Strength: Strong Consistency Between Philosophy and Business Activities

FAST RETAILING's greatest strength lies in the consistent integration of its core philosophy, "LifeWear," across all aspects of product development, business model, and ESG activities. The idea that creating high-quality, long-lasting clothing is inherently sustainable is materialized at the business level through the "Information Manufacturing Retailer" model, which curtails overproduction. Furthermore, the executive ability to double the recycled material usage ratio in one year^¹^² and the global activities that facilitate the donation of 58.97 million^¹⁹ clothing items demonstrate the company's strong will and organizational capability to prevent its philosophy from remaining mere words. This consistency between philosophy and execution is the source of strong brand loyalty.

Challenge: Transparency in Human Capital Management

On the other hand, the company's challenge lies in the limited disclosure of information regarding human capital management. While it champions the noble philosophy of "all-members management"^⁵, objective data to measure its realization, such as specific metrics like the ratio of managers by gender and nationality, employee engagement scores, and wage gaps, are not evident from the current data. Especially for a company operating globally and where the active participation of diverse talent is essential, demonstrating D&I progress with figures is critically important to substantiate the credibility of its philosophy. Transparently disclosing progress and challenges towards realizing its philosophy will be essential to further enhance trust from stakeholders.

Key Points for Future Attention

Future attention will be on the concrete roadmap for achieving the stated sustainability targets. Specifically, progress towards reducing GHG emissions across the entire supply chain and achieving the 10% water usage reduction target for 2025^²⁷ will be scrutinized. Furthermore, how high will the recycled material ratio be increased in the future, and how will a complete circular model of "garment-to-garment recycling" be built? Achieving this will require not only technological innovation but also leadership that engages the entire industry. To what extent can the company achieve both business growth and sustainability at a high level in realizing its philosophy? FAST RETAILING's challenge will be a litmus test for the future of the apparel industry itself.

Footnotes

出典

Footnotes

FAST RETAILING INTEGRATED REPORT 2023, p.85, "Recycled materials and other materials with low greenhouse gas emissions usage ratio", (FY2023) ↩ ↩² ↩³
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.81, "Recycled materials and other materials with low greenhouse gas emissions usage ratio", (FY2024) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.53, "Steady progress in switching to low environmental impact materials", (FY2024) ↩ ↩²
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.57, "INTERVIEW 2", (FY2024) ↩ ↩² ↩³
FAST RETAILING INTEGRATED REPORT 2023, p.70, "Regarding Human Resources Strategy", (FY2023) ↩ ↩² ↩³
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.2, "Corporate Philosophy", (FY2024) ↩ ↩²
FAST RETAILING INTEGRATED REPORT 2023, p.10, "Ultimate everyday wear for everyone around the world", (FY2023) ↩
FAST RETAILING INTEGRATED REPORT 2023, p.18, "LifeWear Our Philosophy", (FY2023) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.19, "Our Philosophy", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.5, "LifeWear", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.17, "For a Better Future", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.28, "Description", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.21, "Fourth Founding Period", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.59, "Promoting the Introduction of Renewable Energy Globally", (FY2023) ↩
FAST RETAILING INTEGRATED REPORT 2023, p.25, "Contributing to the Sustainable Development of Society", (FY2023) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.26, "Our Philosophy", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING INTEGRATED REPORT 2023, p.12, "Innovation in Store Management", (FY2023) ↩
FAST RETAILING INTEGRATED REPORT 2023, p.16, "The Company Most Needed in the World", (FY2023) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.81, "Donation of Collected Clothing", (FY2024) ↩ ↩²
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.17, "The Heart of LifeWear Initiative: Heattech Donation Recipients", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.17, "The Heart of LifeWear Initiative: Heattech Donation Recipients", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.65, "INTERVIEW 4: Directly Addressing the World's Greatest Challenges", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.51, "New Business Model for Clothing", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.4, "Contributing to Society Through Our Business", (FY2024) ↩
FAST RETAILING INTEGRATED REPORT 2023, p.85, "Recycled materials and other materials with low greenhouse gas emissions usage ratio", (FY2023) ↩
FAST RETAILING Integrated Report 2024, p.80, "Non-Financial Highlights", (FY2023) ↩
FAST RETAILING INTEGRATED REPORT 2023, p.65, "Initiatives to Resolve Water Resource Issues", (FY2025) ↩