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09.2021 Leader's Remarks

Pacific SOGO Department Store develops ESG blueprint.

Pacific SOGO Department Store Chairman / Sophia C.W. Huang
373A01
        2020 can be called an earth shaking year in history! COVID-19 has brought unprecedented calamity to the whole world and completely subverted the law of human existence, namely, the closed territory, the sluggish consumption, the social distance, the lack of housing and the heavy industry of hundreds of workers, and the retail service industry is the first to bear the brunt. Adhering to the original intention of "people-oriented", Pacific SOGO Department store has walked through the storm hand in hand with the whole of Taiwan with a strong and solid operation foundation, customer friendly service heritage and flexible and rapid response mechanism!

        Today, with the publication of this enterprise report, China is facing the most severe test since the outbreak of the epidemic, and the department store retail industry has once again become the hardest hit area. At this critical moment, we look forward to the same life on the same island, work together to fight the epidemic and overcome the epidemic! Pacific SOGO Department store will also continue the epidemic prevention achievements of last year, fulfill its social responsibility and continue to check the health and safety of customers and colleagues.

        Constructing epidemic prevention safety net and safeguarding the physical and mental rights and interests of stakeholders

        Pacific SOGO Department store, as a domestic retail benchmark and CSR model student of department stores, immediately started the "epidemic prevention command center" system, formulated epidemic prevention guidelines and started the independent management mechanism after the emergence of the first confirmed case in China last year. It is the retail channel with the fastest response in China. We uphold three major missions to safeguard the physical and mental rights and interests of "people": first, to protect the health of every customer and colleague, second, to protect the right to work of every colleague, and third, to help colleagues, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders adapt to the new normal. With these three missions as the core, we build the most complete and thorough "SOGO epidemic prevention safety net" with the fastest response ability, covering six aspects such as environment, service, commodity, fashion, education and prevention, so as to build an indestructible safety line for all stakeholders.

        Governance: operating performance against the trend

        At present, SOGO plans various ESG strategies with epidemic prevention as the development core. Whether it was Tianmu store at the end of last year or Fuxing store in Taipei a few days ago, after we learned that there were confirmed cases coming to the store, we immediately closed the store for disinfection, strengthened the independent health management of employees, and actively cooperated with the government's epidemic investigation. When the epidemic situation in motao hospital expanded, the cleaning, disinfection and epidemic prevention measures of Zhongli store were accurate and in place, and the epidemic prevention performance was publicly praised by government departments many times. More importantly, we have won the support and recognition of consumers - SOGO "treats customers as relatives" for 34 years, regardless of peacetime or epidemic period!

        When the epidemic first broke out last year, the number of people in stores decreased significantly. One day I visited the floor to greet a customer and thank her for her support. The lady answered without hesitation, "I dare not go to other homes. You SOGO, I'm relieved!" Steve Jobs, the founder of apple, said, "brand is the word of trust!" The trust of consumers is our greatest affirmation.

        Sogo has achieved success in epidemic prevention, creating a reassuring and safe store, and customers' consumption intention is reflected in operation performance. Last year's anniversary performance opened a red market. 7 stores in Taiwan played a beautiful home run, with an overall growth rate of 6%. Half data points grew by more than double digits compared with 2019, leading the performance of peers in the region; The annual operating performance was better than the overall performance of the department store industry, and the annual after tax earnings and net earnings per share reached a new high.

        Environmental aspect: green consumption benchmarking, environmental protection education, Tuka department store innovation

        Sogo hopes for itself with the "benchmark of Asian green department stores". All commodity activities and mobile payments are based on green consumption, and accelerating digitization is the primary task. Last year, SOGO app was fully upgraded, paper vouchers were fully electronic, and more electronic gift certificates were promoted. More than 1.3 billion electronic gift certificates were issued throughout the year, greatly reducing resource consumption. The existing paper gift certificates are changed from 10 to single. The paper saved by the electronization and revision of gift certificates can stack 91 SOGO loyalty and filial piety halls.

        Our green consumption journey not only meets the shopping experience of guests, but also contributes to the environment and society. Small farmers' exhibition is an example. Last year, Taiwan held 34 small-scale peasant activities with the largest scale and the best quality. At present, people are more cautious about the source of food materials. SOGO small agricultural exhibition not only checks for consumers and makes people feel at ease, but also conforms to the local environmental protection principle of "food mileage"; Within three years, the performance of small-scale agricultural exhibition has grown 10 times and become a green consumption index.

        Due to the heavy use of masks and disposable tableware during the epidemic, which caused serious environmental pollution, SOGO published game cards with both epidemic prevention and environmental education. Through the promotion of store activities, SOGO brought out the correct concept of environmental protection with educational content, which was the first initiative of the department store industry to deeply cultivate environmental education through picture books and cards. We will continue to extend this set of epidemic prevention and environmental protection cards to rural areas and strengthen environmental education.

        Social aspect: the sustainable public welfare chain connects customers and colleagues to practice social care

        When the epidemic is severe, SOGO connects stakeholders and implements social care through the "sustainable public welfare chain". Internally, create a safe and happy workplace and take care of colleagues and counter partners - no layoffs or salary cuts during the epidemic, and colleagues have no worries about the economy. In addition, we have obtained the first and only ISO 45001 occupational safety and health management system certification in Taiwan, which represents that SOGO has reached the international standard; The only "sports enterprise" in Taiwan's department stores has been praised by the Sports Administration for two consecutive times, and has realized our commitment to the health of our colleagues.

        Externally, the sustainable public welfare chain closely connects SOGO with the consumer public. We give full play to our channel advantages, combine physical and online, hold the creative cooking competition of "five-star epidemic prevention meal" initiated by department stores, and connect consumers in Taiwan to promote home epidemic prevention, safe cooking and healthy diet, so as to welcome the new life of epidemic prevention. The works of these plain chefs have been sold in SOGO Taipei three museums, setting a precedent for department stores.

        Sogo starts the vision project to provide happiness for all

        Thoreau, an American writer, said, "goodness is the only investment that will not fail!" According to the latest consumer survey of joint marketing by Ding & Ding management consultants, the brand loyalty and brand recommendation of Pacific SOGO Department store have continued to grow for three consecutive years, and the overall customer satisfaction has reached 90.9%, a record high. Consumers are certainly the biggest driving force for our sustainability development, and transformation is the key to sustainability!

        Sogo launched the "Vision Project" last year to shape the company's vision, mission and core values and transform towards a sustainable road. We hope to work hand in hand with customers, colleagues, suppliers and other stakeholders to jointly draw up a vision blueprint, and build Pacific SOGO Department Store into a "retail benchmarking enterprise that keeps pace with the times, is friendly and good together, and provides all-round fashion life experience for the public" This article is reproduced from the 2020 enterprise sustainability report of Pacific SOGO Department Store (Chairman's words)

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