"Still Not Enough. That's Why It's Interesting." - KURUKURU Inc. Outlines Growth Strategy for Mid-Tier Phase and New Behavioral Standards at All-Hands Meeting on July 1, 2026

KURUKURU Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Yasuhiro Sekizawa; hereinafter "KURUKURU"), which operates its own D2C brand business, held an all-hands meeting on July 1, 2026 (Wed) to review the first half of the fiscal year and share plans for the second half. Approximately 60 employees participated, facing the company's current position and challenges, and sharing plans and resolve for the second half of the year.

All-hands meeting where all employees gathered (held on July 1, 2026)

From Appointment Conferral to MVP Awards: A 6-Hour Session to Align the Entire Company Twice a Year

The all-hands meeting proceeded with the following agenda:

・ Conferral of appointments and salary increases

・ Greetings from new mid-career hires

・ Orientation [Part 1] (Representative Director)

・ Sharing of overall strategy (Corporate Planning)

・ Policy announcements from each department (Department Managers)

・ MVP awards

・ Announcement of HR and evaluation system

・ Orientation [Part 2] (Representative Director)

The meeting began with the conferral of appointments to promoted employees and new hires, followed by greetings from new members. It then continued for approximately six hours, including an orientation by Representative Director Sekizawa, sharing of the overall strategy by Corporate Planning, review of the first half and announcement of plans for the second half by each department, MVP awards for the first half, and closing remarks.

The overarching theme for the day was "Continuous Change." While continuing to grow significantly beyond the previous year, the meeting served as a time for everyone to directly confront the company's "current position" without averting their eyes from the challenges that lay beneath this growth.

Five Themes Spoken by Representative Director Sekizawa - "Still Not Enough. That's Why It's Interesting."

At the beginning of the orientation, Sekizawa expressed his gratitude to the employees, saying, "Thank you for coming along with this company, which has many changes and is by no means an easy one. We are where we are today thanks to all of you." He then discussed five themes for further expanding the company and ensuring its long-term survival.

Create excellent products and services – The starting point for everything is the customer. Not "will it sell?" or "I want to sell it," but whether it will please the customer. Think through this one point.

Eliminate communication misunderstandings – Eliminate discrepancies in understanding and lack of confirmation, and proceed with work through "verbalization skills x immediate response x foresight x consideration for others."

Look at the current situation honestly. And change – Share challenges directly and always present "what to do starting today" as a set.

Become a monster talent – Understand the value of every yen, think with self-accountability, always have alternative plans, and become talent that surprises those around you with things they haven't asked for.

Coexist with AI and overwhelm with humanity – Leave routine tasks to AI and deliver overwhelming value in areas of judgment, planning, and understanding customer emotions.

The session concluded with the question, "What will you change when you go home today?" prompting each individual to reflect on their own actions.

Representative Director Sekizawa posing a question to each individual during the orientation

Review of the First Half of the Year | Facing Challenges Behind Growth Head-On

In the overall strategy segment, the first half's performance was reviewed with numbers. While continuing to grow significantly beyond the same period last year, the reality of not reaching the goals set at the beginning of the term was shared openly. Sales were broken down into "access count x conversion rate x average order value" to identify the contributing factors, and the behavioral standards for the entire company to tackle in the second half were confirmed.

Furthermore, it was announced that the annual targets would be reviewed to align with reality, to avoid placing burdens on customers and employees due to unrealistic plans. "First, let's reliably achieve this year's goals, and next year, let's surpass even greater goals," Sekizawa stated, ensuring everyone was looking at the same objective.

"From Small to Mid-Tier" - New Company-Wide Behavioral Standards Established

With the number of employees increasing from the 50s to the high 80s over the past year, KURUKURU is in the midst of a phase transition from a small to mid-sized company to a mid-tier company. Moving from an organization where alignment was achieved through the "unspoken understanding" of a small group to an organization aligned by common standards – at this all-hands meeting, the company-wide behavioral standards, "KURUKURU 10 Articles," developed through extensive discussions among the executive team, were announced. These 10 keywords organize the values KURUKURU cherishes, such as customer centricity, proactivity, and sense of speed.

Also presented were the words, "As a KURUKURU person – You belong here." This emphasizes valuing the affirmation of each individual's existence while simultaneously demanding high standards.

These behavioral standards will not end as mere slogans but will be linked to the evaluation system. Key evaluation items such as leadership and AI utilization will be added, and they will be disseminated as common language throughout the company through regular group work.

Sharing of Departmental Policies | Explaining the "Why" Beyond the Numbers

In the latter half, department heads presented their reviews of the first half and their plans for the second half.

What was common to all presentations was that they did not stop at reporting numerical targets.

Why this strategy?

What value do we want to deliver to customers?

How will we grow as a team?

These were articulated in their own words, and challenges that did not go well were also shared openly. Presentations began with gratitude to the members who support each other daily, declarations such as "Let AI and systems handle routine tasks, and let people focus on customer-facing work," and calls for collaboration across departmental boundaries – the company-wide common themes resonated throughout, making it a time to internalize the strategy.

KURUKURU aims to be an organization that "thinks and acts independently, and sees things through," rather than an organization that "waits for instructions."

Employees listening to the presentations by department heads on the first half review and second half plans

MVP Awards | A Culture of Fairly Recognizing Achievements and Challenges

At the bi-annual MVP awards, this time nominees were selected in three categories: "Contribution to Others," "Challenging Initiatives/Improvements," and "Special Award." The winning teams were chosen for each. This is a KURUKURU-style awards ceremony that shines a light not only on achievements reflected in numbers but also on contributions to others and new challenges.

The award recipients included a team that built a new graduate recruitment system from scratch across departmental boundaries, a team that created a system to semi-automatically create manuals by linking Slack knowledge with AI, and a team that automated preliminary market research for trade fairs, reducing research time by approximately 90%. All of these demonstrated high regard for contributions beyond departmental lines and business transformation utilizing technology.

MVP award-winning teams receiving awardsSpeeches by award recipientsSpeeches by award recipients

Closing - "The Future Belongs to Those Who Keep Attacking"

To conclude the meeting, Sekizawa shared a mindset for navigating the era of change, stating, "Don't defend, attack," "Think of challenges as experiments," and "If no one else can decide, you decide. That is your value."

He ended with the words, "I believe in you. I spoke strictly because I have expectations. I told you my honest feelings because I trust you," leaving the venue filled with positive energy for the second half of the year.

Strengthening Recruitment for Both New Graduates and Mid-Career Professionals - "For Those Who Want to Grow" and Entering the Mid-Tier Phase

As the organization enters a phase of expansion, KURUKURU is strengthening recruitment for both new graduates and mid-career professionals. In 2026, a new graduate recruitment system was established from scratch across departmental lines, and the company is now fully engaged in recruiting new graduates for the class of 2026. Concurrently, they are actively pursuing year-round recruitment of mid-career professionals to drive business expansion.

KURUKURU offers an unparalleled environment for challenge for individuals who "genuinely want to grow," "want to achieve results as a professional," and "want to work on strategic planning." As the company transitions from a small to mid-sized entity to a mid-tier one, they are seeking colleagues who want to take on challenges at the heart of organizational and brand building.

For details on recruitment information, please visit the recruitment site.

Recruitment Site: https://www.kurukuru.co.jp/recruit/

About KURUKURU Inc.

KURUKURU Inc. is a D2C company that operates multiple brands in areas such as bedding, travel, and beauty, under the corporate mission "To create and nurture brands, and bring new value to the world," positioning itself as a "Brand Creative Company®." With a system that handles everything from product planning to sales, public relations, advertising, and customer support, they deliver products that make life a little more enjoyable and comfortable by continuously updating based on feedback from consumers.

GOKUMIN

GOKUMIN is a comprehensive bedding brand committed to Japanese quality. It has received numerous awards, including Amazon's Best Award in 2023. With experienced Japanese technicians and a state-of-the-art factory with patented technology, they deliver high-quality products with "customer perspective" as their top priority.

Official Online Store: https://gokumin.co.jp/

MAIMO

MAIMO is a life-move brand that supports mobility for daily life. Centered around suitcases, they offer products that make travel time more comfortable and services that enrich individual lives.

Official Online Store: https://maimo-travel.com

Ur.Salon

Ur.Salon is a life-beauty brand that allows you to enjoy your own style. From hair irons that are gentle on hair to carefully selected materials and sophisticated designs, they deliver products that fill your heart with satisfaction every time you use them.

Official Online Store: https://ursalon.jp/

Company Overview

KURUKURU Inc.

"People create. For people, we create." A company that creates and delivers with heart.

Company Name: KURUKURU Inc. Representative Director: Yasuhiro Sekizawa Location: 6-10-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061 GINZA SIX 13F Established: September 2015 Capital: 50 million yen Official HP: https://www.kurukuru.co.jp/