ASMARQ Co., Ltd.

If domestic and overseas economic conditions and business trends fluctuate and cause client companies to reduce their willingness to invest in marketing, advertising, and IT, demand for marketing research may decline, potentially having a material impact on business performance. The Group is expanding business along the two axes of the Marketing Research Business and the HR Tech Business, both of which depend on client companies' investment appetite. The likelihood is assessed as medium and the impact as high.

Against the backdrop of diversifying consumer preferences, client companies are demanding more accurate and effective marketing research, and the Group is likewise required to continuously evolve its service offerings. If the Group fails to adequately respond to changes of the times, customer attrition may occur, potentially affecting business results. The Group is addressing this by actively promoting necessary service development and external partnerships. The likelihood is assessed as medium and the impact as high.

If the Group fails to sufficiently anticipate changes in market needs within the Marketing Research Business and its services become obsolete due to technological innovation or other factors, this may have a material impact on business performance. The Group has a track record of flexibly responding to the external environment and customer needs, such as developing an online interview system during the spread of COVID-19. Going forward, the Group intends to mitigate this risk by maintaining a system capable of responding to environmental changes. The likelihood is assessed as medium and the impact as high.

The Company manages panel members' personal information in a database, and if information leakage occurs due to unauthorized external access or deficiencies in internal control systems, this may result in claims for damages and loss of social credibility, potentially having a material impact on business results. As countermeasures, the Company has obtained the Privacy Mark and implements internal rule development, regular employee training, enhanced system security, and internal audits. The likelihood is assessed as low and the impact as high.

Given the nature of the business, in which employees and outsourcing partners handle clients' business information, customer information, technical information, intellectual property rights, and the like, if information leakage or unauthorized external access occurs, the Group may incur liability for damages and be required to make additional investments to strengthen its management systems, potentially affecting business results. The Group implements measures such as limiting access rights, recording access history, introducing security systems, conducting employee ethics training, and periodically verifying outsourcing partners. The likelihood is assessed as low and the impact as high.

Maintaining and expanding a sufficient number of panelists is essential for conducting research promptly and appropriately, and the Company currently secures more than 1 million in-house panelists and more than 18 million external partner panelists (as of the end of November 2025). If panel numbers become insufficient due to a sharp increase in competitors' point incentives or deterioration in relationships with external partners, research quality may decline, potentially affecting business results. The Group is working to mitigate this risk by continuously promoting the activation of its in-house panel and increasing the number of partners. The likelihood is assessed as medium and the impact as medium.

Because client companies' new product launch timing and consumption of advertising budgets are concentrated around fiscal year-ends in March and December, the Group's sales also tend to be concentrated in the first and second quarters. In the fiscal year ended November 2025, consolidated net sales were ¥1,215 million in the first quarter, ¥1,170 million in the second quarter, ¥943 million in the third quarter, and ¥1,087 million in the fourth quarter; if expected sales cannot be secured during peak periods, this may affect business results. The Group intends to mitigate this risk by formulating cost plans that account for seasonality and by developing new businesses, such as HR Tech services, that are less susceptible to seasonal fluctuations. The likelihood is assessed as medium and the impact as medium.

Representative Director Shoichi Machida plays an important role in formulating business strategy and leveraging his industry network, and the Group's dependence on him is recognized as being high at present. If, for any reason, he becomes unable to continue performing his duties, this may affect business development. The Group is working to reduce excessive dependence through strengthening its management systems and developing management executives. The likelihood is assessed as medium and the impact as medium.

The Group positions M&A and capital/business alliances aimed at complementing and strengthening its business as one of its growth strategies and intends to continue implementing them going forward. If matters not identified or anticipated during due diligence come to light or arise after an M&A transaction is executed, and the value of the investee declines, this may affect business performance and business development through goodwill impairment and other effects. The Group intends to reduce such risk by conducting detailed due diligence covering financial, tax, legal, and business aspects when executing such transactions. The likelihood is assessed as medium and the impact as medium.

The HR Tech industry is one of rapid change, with frequent development of new technologies and introduction of new services; if the Group is slow to respond to technological innovation, the competitiveness of its Humap service may decline. In addition, if unplanned investment in technological elements becomes necessary, this may have a material impact on business results. The Group is addressing this by promoting the continuous acquisition of new technical skills among its IT engineers. The likelihood is assessed as medium and the impact as medium.