2005 New Year Message from the President, Fumio Iwai
Our Commitment to Strengthening Konica Minolta Brand
Happy New Year!
This year marks the fifth year of the 21st century, and the third year of the reorganization of the Konica Minolta Group. It is certainly amazing how quickly time passes.
Over these years, the world has seen dramatic socio-economic changes such as the emergence of a powerful economic bloc resulting from the expansion of the EU, and the incredible economic growth of China. The business environment we find ourselves in is still uncertain because of the appreciation of the Japanese yen and the unstable economic outlook. To better cope with the rapidly changing business environment, we have separated management from operations and expedited our business processes. We will continue to build a more robust and flexible management structure this year to ensure even greater satisfaction for our shareholders and other stakeholders.
While our efforts during the 2004 fiscal year --the first year after the integration-- were geared toward building solid business bases, fiscal 2005 will be a year of further business expansion. If we are to successfully expand, we need to envision the world situation and market conditions ten years from now, foreseeing how the markets will change and what products and services will be in demand. I believe it is crucial for us to encourage the creation of new businesses, as well as innovation in the existing ones, so that we will be positioned to better serve future market and customer needs. During fiscal 2005, the first year of our business expansion, we will launch new growth strategies and are determined to achieve substantial results that will be satisfactory to everyone.
I believe that achieving our management goals depends highly on our human resources. Konica Minolta Group's employee vision states that "Konica Minolta values people who are committed to shared corporate goals of becoming a global company with market leadership in the imaging business domain, and who always strive for continuous innovation with the customer oriented approach, not adhering to successful achievements of the past nor established customs". In the rapidly changing world, past successes and conventional ways of doing business can indeed be an obstacle to the achievement of our goal. Therefore, in order to become a leading global company in the global market, we value "people dedicated to the constant pursuit of innovation".
Equally important for business development is brand recognition. As Konica Minolta is a new brand, we have to make our name more recognizable and to improve its image, which will, in consequence, enhance its value. In particular, we have to gain broader public recognition of this new brand as one that is "youthful, creative, and dynamic". Establishing such an innovative image requires, above all, the development of inspiring products. We will develop distinctive products and services with high image quality and added value by sophisticating our four core technologies: optical technology, nanotechnology, materials technology, and image technology. In doing so, we will continue to ensure maximum customer satisfaction.
I remain fully committed to promoting the development of products and services throughout our group that will help to establish an "innovative, youthful, creative, and dynamic" brand image, and enhance the global recognition and competitiveness of the Konica Minolta brand.
In closing, I would like to offer my sincere wishes for your good health and happiness, and I look forward to your continued support of the Konica Minolta Group in the new year.
Fumio Iwai
President and CEO
Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.