Launched in 1999, our Italian espresso café "Excelsior Caffé" has enjoyed enthusiastic support from customers and has grown into a café chain with 138 shops nationwide, from Hokkaido to Fukuoka, as of March 31, 2006. Over this period of time, we not only expanded the varieties of coffee offered, but have also endeavored to develop menus that cater to customer needs, including a selection of frozen drinks offered slightly in advance of seasonal demand in early spring each year, "Saltimbocca" hot sandwiches using Neapolitan-style dough, and soup sets served for lunch and dinner featuring seasonal ingredients. Our efforts have been rewarded by positive customer response and steady performance in both sales and the number of customer visits at existing shops. In light of these accomplishments, we have redefined the concept of this business model as an "Italian bar," expressing our aspiration to fashion our shops after bars in Italy, which appear in a variety of styles and are closely tied to the local community. From the broad diversity of bars actually found in Italy, we selected three styles for our shops - the Panini Bar, the Pizzeria Bar and the Gelatteria Bar. We plan to develop this concept based on location, market segment and customer needs. To further enhance the quality of the coffee we serve, we will gradually switch to semiautomatic espresso machines.