With the increased awareness of self-medication, pharmacies and drugstores will play an increasing role as centers for the dissemination of healthcare information. Sato Pharmaceutical is responding to this by increasing its support through information activities including seminars and IT activities. At the same time, the Internet and other communications media are being increasingly used to reach the consumer.

Supplying information to pharmacies and drugstores through seminars
and symposiums

Sato Pharmaceutical holds a series of seminars and symposiums providing new product and other information to pharmacists and drugstore owners and staff across the nation, as well as activities such as overseas study tours. The company also actively participates in domestic and international drugstore shows as well. At the Sato Symposium, held in February 2009, diplomatic journalist, writer, and former head of broadcaster NHK's Washington D.C. bureau Ryuichi Teshima spoke on "The new Japan-US relationship, and coming trends." In November of that year, the Sato Drugstore Conference was also held, where Mayumi Mochizuki of the Keio University faculty of Pharmacy, and Tatsuo Kurokawa, professor of the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, presented a lecture providing several viewpoints on the future outlook for OTC pharmaceuticals. Through these conferences, Sato Pharmaceutical is working to share information on the new OTC pharmaceutical sales system, and to help support the sales activities of pharmacies and drugstores.

Supporting consumers, pharmacies and drugstores to meet the changes
of the revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Law

With the enforcement of the revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Law in June of 2009, Sato has created a wide range of tools for information sharing to help consumers understand the new sales system and the new classifications of OTC pharmaceuticals. For partner pharmacies and drugstores, a wide range of support covering all areas of businesses is being introduced, including the New Plus-One Corner System, which provides store layout and product display examples and sales support to increase sales of new products.

Applying IT for information transmission, administrative support
and implementation of education

With the increased awareness of self-medication, Sato Pharmaceutical is using IT as the core for information transmission and the creation of new networks.

One step aimed at consumers has been to establish websites specifically targeted on certain needs.Examples of this are independent sites for the main brands―Yunker, Acess and Stona―and for Uriage, the cosmetic for sensitive skin from France; for women, the Greenhelp and Genki Aging health sites, the latter aimed at middle-aged and older women; and even a site dedicated to the ever-popular Sato-chan elephant mascot character. Sales support for stores has been provided through the use of IT activities such as an online ordering system and a pharmacy and drugstore-specic site providing an online ordering system, new product information and product lookup functions.

An in-house broadband streaming site allows for employee education through the sharing of management and product information, with an "e-learning" online training system and a video conferencing system that better links the different ofces.

Expanding marketing activities through the use of major stars

Each of the main Sato brands has its own major talent, with the excitement created helping to expand marketing activities. Yunker is represented by record-setting Seattle Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki. Former baseball manager and television personality Senichi Hoshino is popular with Stona's key purchasers, housewives. In 2008, fashion model and actress Izumi Mori became the face of Acess. Yunker advertising has also been placed at Safeco Field, the home stadium of Ichiro. Highly-regarded actress Rei Kikukawa is appearing in television commercials for Ringl IB, while last year's leading LPGA money winner, Sakura Yokomine, is the face for Salomethyl.