Kakaku com : Summary of Main Questions and Answers at Results Briefing for the First Quarter of the Fiscal Year ending March 31, 2023

Summary of Main Questions and Answers at the Results Briefing for the First Quarter of the Fiscal Year ending March 2022, held on August 3, 2022

• Consolidated Results

Q: Are there any changes in your assumptions for the full-year revenue growth rate for each business segment? At the previous briefing, we were told that you expected sales growth in the high single digits for Kakaku.com, just under 40% for Tabelog, and up to 30% for New Media and Solutions/Finance.

1. There are no changes. Kakaku.com, in particular, is generally on schedule, as we have set a budget internally that is heavily weighted toward H2 of the fiscal year, based on our belief that the recovery from semiconductor shortages and the supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 will not happen immediately. However, in terms of the results of Q1, Kakaku.com was still lower than our internal plan, and New Media and Solutions/Finance was higher than our internal plan.

• Kakaku.com

1. If the shortage of semiconductors is resolved in the future, will sales of durable goods be boosted in real time? Or should we expect a certain degree of time lag?

1. If the shortage of semiconductors is resolved and new products are launched, and the newly released products are placed on the shelves of retailers, including online retailers and storefronts, or in malls, then, for example, many users who want to replace their washing machines, refrigerators, and air conditioners will be able to buy them. There are a lot of consumers who are waiting for new products. In this regard, we forecast that sales will be boosted nearly in real time.

1. Regarding durable goods in the shopping business, looking at Q1 sales at consumer electronics retailers, demand for white goods, such as washing machines, was strong despite new product launches being sluggish. On the other hand, looking at page 9 of the presentation materials, it seems that customer referrals were sluggish not only for digital home appliances but also for white

goods. Was the number of customer referrals sluggish for air conditioners and refrigerators as well? If so, please explain why this is.

1. Kakaku.com functions to some extent as a media site. Naturally, there is demand for buying old products as long as new products are not available. However, for Kakaku.com and other online shopping sites to gain momentum, I think they will need a little more exciting factors, such as the introduction of new products. We believe that there will be a bit of a time lag between a slight recovery in white goods at retailers and our recovery.

1

Q: There was the large decline in sales of telecommunications in the service business, what is the outlook for Q2 and beyond?

1. Though the business was sluggish in Q1, if we are to show (the trend so far) in a line graph, we have hit a sort of bottom, so I don't think it will go down further. For example, we will have a positive but not negative result in overseas Wi-Fi sales, so we do not think there is a major cause for concern in the future.

1. How do you see the newly launched Kakaku.com Travel contributing to future sales and the timing of that contribution? It seems to me that the business has great potential.

1. We don't have a very specific internal plan, because we believe that sales plans should only be made after good content is created and the service is supported by users. As a point of reference, it took about three years after launching Kyujin Box before sales reached a certain level. I hope that it will take about the same amount of time for Kakaku.com Travel to become a popular travel site and generate sales.

• Tabelog

1. Are there any signs of negative effects on the promotion service business, such as a reduction in sales promotion expenses on the restaurant side due to the soaring raw material costs?

1. When restaurants consider signing up for Tabelog's promotion service, we feel many of them are trapped in a mindset that it is still too early to do so, or they are trying to control fixed ad spending due the surge in raw material prices. This is why, in Q1, the number (of promotion service contracted restaurants) was only slightly higher than in Q4 of the previous fiscal year.

1. I don't think you are at that stage yet, but is there a possibility that sales per restaurant for the online reservation service will decline as the number of contracted restaurants increase over the

medium term? Or are there measures that can achieve incremental growth, including price increases?

1. As a matter course, I think there is a possibility of a decline in sales per restaurant. However, this is a question of which is faster, the increase in the number of contracted restaurants or the increase in the total number of online reservations. I think either will do. However, while both numbers increase, signing a contract with a restaurant is more difficult, so we don't find that the decline in sales per restaurant is a particularly negative factor.
   Regarding the other issue of gradual growth potential, including price increases, we have no particular plans at this time to change our current pricing structure.

2

1. The number of online reservations decreased again due to the resurgence of COVID-19. On the other hand, you mentioned that there were almost no withdrawals of fee-paying restaurants. What is the sales outlook for the restaurant promotion service, online reservation service, and

advertising sales in the future?

1. For the online reservation service, which is contracted on a pay-for-performance basis, a decrease in the number of online reservations does not lead to withdrawals from the service or to restaurants not renewing their contracts, so I don't think there is a correlation there.
   We have not made any change in our sales forecast for the restaurant promotion service and online reservation service, because although we are currently affected by the seventh wave of COVID-19, demand for dining out has not fallen that much. At this time, we do not anticipate any administrative actions similar to a Declaration of a State of Emergency or priority preventive measures, and we are of the opinion that there probably will not be any such action. However, we don't know what will really happen. The future impact of COVID-19 is a bit unpredictable, so we may respond as needed or change our outlook in the future, but there is nothing we can say about the outlook at this time.

1. Will the pace of future increase in the number of contracted restaurants for the promotion service continue to be like the pace in Q1, i.e., a QoQ rise of 100 restaurants? If so, what will be the

background to that?

1. At the moment, we are expecting a little faster pace for Q2, as well as for H2, and we have not changed our sales plan so far, despite the impact of the seventh wave of COVID-19. Although there will naturally be some impact from the rising costs of raw materials, we do not anticipate any unexpected factors or a standstill as in Q1, as many restaurants are devising ways to overcome the current situation by changing their prices, menus, and so on. Accordingly, we hope that things will proceed as planned.

1. According to page 41 of the presentation materials, monthly users for Tabelog in June 2022 were down 10% YoY. Could you give us some background on this? Also, looking at the ratio by age group, do you see a weakness in attracting younger users? Or is this ratio simply the same as the age structure of the Japanese population? Assuming the younger segment is weak, can you

tell us something about the competitive environment for the younger segment.

1. I should have given a detailed explanation about this.
   The decline in number of monthly Tabelog users, is due to the fact that we have stopped supporting AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages). It is not possible to keep track of the number of users on the same basis, including those on smartphones and PC browsers. We are currently publishing these figures, but perhaps, in the future, it would be better to look at other marketing data, such as SimilarWeb or NetRatings, or other indicators. Please do not pay too much attention to the number of users.

3

For services that still have room for growth, such as Kyujin Box and Sumaity, the degree of growth can be measured by the increase in the number of users. For Tabelog, however, the number of users is nearly 100% of the adult population, so I don't think it is necessary to be concerned about a rise or a fall in numbers. Nevertheless, if there are any fluctuations that are of concern, we would like to pick up on them and disclose them.

1. How do you plan on promoting Tabelog Order? Do you have any target for the number of contracted restaurants at the end of the current fiscal year?

1. We have not yet reached the point where we can have a target figure for the number of contracted restaurants, since the service has just been launched. However, as soon as we are able to establish a plan and approach for sales promotion, including joint sales promotion with our partners, Digital Garage and Toshiba TEC, we will let you know how we are going to do it.
   At this stage, we have received a number of inquiries from restaurants that have seen the press release, so we would like to proceed carefully first.

1. When are you planning to do spot ads for Tabelog? Will it be ready in time for this year's year- end party season? While restaurants are hesitant to sign up for fixed fee contracts, it seems to me that there is a high need for this service from restaurants.

1. As you say, naturally there is a need from restaurants. Since we are receiving ad spending from restaurants, we think there is a need for us to promote Tabelog, and we are considering doing some advertising. We are not able to say for sure, if we will be able to run effective ads toward the year-end party season, since there are some uncertainties, such as the cost performance of such advertising.

• Kyujin Box

1. Have you seen any positive impact from the launch of the Android App for Kyujin Box? What are you expecting for the future launch of the iOS App?

1. At the moment, there is no particular positive impact on the figures. However, with the app we are able to measure user movements and what users are focusing on, which cannot be done within the browser version of the service. This will help us in creating a better browser version of the site as well. It is not common for users to download an app to search for a full-time job, but if we include demand for part-time jobs, including daily, weekly, and other short-term jobs, there are users who access the site quite frequently. We believe that some users will find the app useful, so we have high expectations here.
   There are some differences between Android users and iPhone (iOS) users in terms of age, gender, and usage, and so on, so we would like to launch the iOS App as well, to cover all types of users.

4

Q: I was relieved to see that Kyujin Box is doing well. On page 23 of the materials, you said that the recovery in demand in the hiring market is settling down. From what figures do you confirm such a trend? Please also tell us about your future outlook.

1. Recovery of demand in the recruitment market, can be checked in various ways, for example, by looking at the number of job offerings on the site, conversions, and so on. I still think that the most useful reference for overall market movements would be the job openings-to-applicants ratio.
   As for more detailed data, the total number of positions and job types offered by individual companies can also give an indication of hiring demand. It depends on the type of industry, and there are various figures, so it is difficult to make a general statement, but overall, I would say that the recovery in demand in the hiring market is settling down.

5