Supporting the new challenge of Ryubo Department Store, a department store rooted in the local community - Reaffirming customer feedback with data and co-creating a new concept -
CCC MK HOLDINGS and Ryubo Industry collaborated to create a new concept centered on data and uniqueness, outlining future business strategy. This release shares the background, vision, and next actions behind the initiative.(Updated November 4, 2025)
T-POINT and Ryubo
The Ryubo Group, based in Okinawa Prefecture, became the first department store to introduce CCC's T-POINT (now V POINT) in May 2015. Ryubo Department Store, Ryubo Store, and even Ryubo Net Supermarket, which was released in 2023, offer services that allow you to earn and use V POINT.
In addition, the two companies will strengthen collaboration in the area of database marketing, such as market research, promotions, and planning and development using V POINT data. V POINT data is used to reach out to tourists as well as local residents.
From record sales to the COVID-19 pandemic, a sense of crisis regarding the current situation
Ryubo Department Store recorded its highest-ever sales in 2018, but has struggled due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, even after the COVID-19 outbreak, large shopping centers continued to open one after another, further dispersing needs within the prefecture, making the market environment even more severe. In this situation, a strong sense of crisis arose within the company, with people asking, "Is this really okay?"
Jun Oyagawa, President and CEO of Ryubo Industry Co., Ltd.
"Rather than just trying to reverse the impact of COVID-19, we have come to realise the need to reassess the current market environment and consumer insights. We therefore commissioned an external organization to conduct an online questionnaire and interview survey of customers who had previously used our service (lost customers) and customers with whom we had no contact (non-users). In order for all employees to fully understand the results and work on their daily tasks with a common direction, we felt it would be effective to create a new concept together with CCC MK HOLDINGS, which is able to collect customer behavior data and consumer feedback. "
Co-creation of a new department store concept using V POINT data
In formulating the new concept, in addition to external research, we conducted marketing research on a wide range of consumers, utilizing the V POINT database, which has approximately 70 million members.
For example, consumer insights that were previously perceived intuitively, such as changes in purchasing behavior before and after COVID-19, trends in new customers due to a pop-up event for a brand making its first appearance in Okinawa, and awareness among tourists, can now be visualized as factual data.
We identified common needs among three target groups: current users, non-users within the prefecture, and tourists, and considered and formulated a new concept that expresses Ryubo's uniqueness.
Mr. Oyagawa
"They conducted a detailed analysis of changes in usage over the 10 years since the introduction of T-POINT in 2015, and provided us with reliable data, which allowed us to proceed with the concept design with a sense of satisfaction. Furthermore, through this process, we were able to obtain objective data to support the validity of the management philosophy that our Chairman, Goichi Itokazu, has long held dear: "Uniqueness is essential to beating the competition."This was a philosophy that all employees shared and that served as Ryubo's guideline for action, and it provided a powerful boost for future initiatives. "
A new concept that incorporates the unique appeal of Ryubo Department Store into its strategy
The new concept is based on the idea of "offering the enjoyment of spending time in Okinawa to all customers, both from within and outside the prefecture," and signifies the rediscovery of Ryubo's unique charm and new challenges.
This concept is also linked to the direction of medium- to long-term strategies and specific plans, and by organizing survey results and data as evidence, it is put into a form that employees can easily use in their daily work.
Mr. Oyagawa
"The design, which conveys the concept slogan with the Okinawan sea as the background, is an expression that only we in Okinawa can pull off. It made a big impact, as it visually symbolized the uniqueness of Ryubo Department Store, which has always been emphasized within the company, and its role as a "one and only department store."There were a variety of reactions from within the company at different levels. Members who are closer to the field and who normally have few opportunities to come into contact with data gained new insights, such as, "So this was the issue," and those in the middle ranks raised questions such as, "So how should we tackle this?" This provided an opportunity for concrete discussions to begin about the current issues and the direction we should take, as visualized in the concept book. "
From concept penetration to execution, creating mechanisms that only Ryubo can do
Now in its 77th year, Ryubo is challenging itself to provide new value as it looks towards its 80th and 100th anniversaries, with sales areas such as Rakuen Department Store themed around "Good things from Okinawa, good things from Japan, good things from around the world, and things that are good for your body."
A variety of initiatives are planned, starting with the opening of a new food hall in November, and CCC MK HOLDINGS will continue to support these efforts.
Mr. Oyagawa
"Through the creation of this new concept, our company's challenges were brought into sharp focus and we were able to redefine the direction we should take. Going forward, we will instill this as a guideline for daily work during employee training, including onboarding, and will also use it to strengthen our communication capabilities so that stakeholders can gain a deeper understanding of our company's strengths and vision. We would like to continue working with CCC MK HOLDINGS to realize plans and products that only Department Store Ryubo, which pursues the essence of a department store, can create. "