Four companies received the 2016 Porter Prize.

Hitotsubashi University's Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy announced the winners of the 2016 Porter Prize on October 26. The award honors companies that have implemented unique, outstanding strategies to achieve and maintain high profitability. Named after Professor Michael E. Porter, it was established in 2001.

The main characteristics of the winning companies are as follows (in no particular order):

■ Maeda Kosen (Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture; President: Masatoshi Maeda) Infrastructure Business
Engages in the manufacture and sale of civil engineering materials useful for disaster prevention, mitigation, environmental conservation, and realizing a recycling-oriented society. A pioneer in expanding the use of fibers into civil engineering materials, traditionally dominated by iron and concrete, the company consistently provides proposal-based sales leveraging its wide product range and high technical capabilities, along with long-term after-sales service.

■Marui Group Card Business (Nakano-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroshi Aoi) Card Business
Operates a credit card business supporting retailers. By quickly issuing credit cards on-site at the time of purchase, it achieves both support for partner retailers and convenience for card users.

■Open House (Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Masaaki Arai) Detached Housing Business
This company manufactures and sells detached houses, mainly in central Tokyo. By handling everything in-house, from land acquisition to design and sales, it has been able to offer low prices to people purchasing their first detached house in central Tokyo and achieve high turnover rates.

■Pidgeon (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Shigeru Yamashita) Baby Care Products Manufacturing and Sales
Manufactures and sells baby care products. Based on research into infant feeding behavior, it has achieved a high market share not only in Japan but also in China by developing baby products for the 0-18 month age group, which has uniform international demand.

The award ceremony will be held at the Hitotsubashi Auditorium in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, on December 1st as part of the "Competitiveness Conference 2016". The first 100 people to apply will be invited to this conference (free admission). Click here to apply.