IR News｜News

 Okayama, Japan, March 28, 2001 -- Benesse Corporation announced today the establishment of Learn-S Co., Ltd, a subsidiary company that focuses on the production and sales of educational instruction materials for high schools in Japan. The start-up of this new subsidiary constitutes another strategic move by Benesse to expand its business of classroom instructional materials for high schools.

Benesse, supported by the Japanese high school teachers as one of Japan's largest providers of high school guidance materials, currently publishes some classroom instructional materials, such as reference books and drill booklets that assist students in learning English, mathematics and Japanese, but the company has not developed its business within this field to the same extent as with guidance materials. Academic guidance materials include simulated examinations and aptitude tests that are used by teachers to assist students in increasing study skills and achieving goals.

Incorporated on April 1, 2001 with 10 million yen in paid-up capital, Learn-S will mainly engage in the planning, production and sales of high school reference books, as well as the production and sales of drill booklets tailor-made upon teachers' requests. The new company will also be responsible for editing other educational materials. At its inception, the company will employ 28 staff members.

The major benefits to creating a subsidiary company that focuses specifically on the production and sales of instructional materials are three-fold:

-Facilitates the hiring and training of personnel
By targeting its hiring and training of professionals who specialize in classroom instructional materials, Learn-S will develop its own personnel policies independent of the hiring practices at Benesse, which trains a cross-section of capable employees to work within a wide variety of businesses.

-Optimizes sales activities for target customers
Teachers who use academic guidance materials do not necessarily require classroom instructional materials, and vice-versa. Since the needs of each group of teachers arise at different times during the school year, sales calls for each of these product lines must be staggered. Learn-S will effectively send a specialized sales staff to make targeted sales calls, as opposed to a single salesperson handling both product lines.

-Increases profitability and reduces costs
Learn-S will be mostly comprised of a select group of professionals, with only a few staff members indirectly involved in the actual planning and production of instructional materials. This streamlined organization will work to create competitive product pricing and to yield increased overall profitability.

Learn-S will take over the sales of classroom instructional materials from Benesse, allowing the company to rapidly build a solid business foundation. In the meantime, the company will start developing new products to accommodate the new high school curriculum to be introduced nationwide in Japan in FY2003.