BUNKYODO GROUP HOLDINGS CO.,LTD.【JP:9978】Stock Price

Bunkyodo Group Holdings is a holding company that operates primarily in book sales and educational platform businesses. The company mainly manages bookstores, retails books and magazines, and sells educational materials and related products.

The company's primary customers are individual consumers, students, and educational institutions. Revenue is generated through in-store purchases, online sales, and the adoption of educational materials by schools. The revenue structure is centered on book and magazine sales, while the educational platform business supplements earnings through material sales and service fees.

The business is divided into two reporting segments: "Retail Operations" and "Educational Platform Business." The Retail Operations segment provides products through company-owned bookstores and distribution channels. The Educational Platform Business develops educational materials, manages sales, and provides learning support services, working in coordination with store operations to expand customer touchpoints.

Bunkyodo Group Holdings prioritizes improving profitability and strengthening its financial position, targeting higher operating profit margins on sales and stable achievement of return on equity (ROE) of 10% or above. Based on the business rehabilitation plan agreed upon through the Alternative Dispute Resolution procedure in 2019, the company is focusing first on improving profitability at existing stores while advancing financial improvements through efficient operations. The company has set clear numerical targets and aims to build a stable growth foundation.

Key investment areas include books as the core business, with expanded introduction of high-margin stationery and miscellaneous goods, trading card specialty sections, and gashapon machines. Specific measures include increasing procurement from Book Sellers & Company and shifting to outright purchase arrangements to improve cost structure. For magazines, the company enhances inventory efficiency through demand-forecasted outright purchases, with existing stores achieving year-over-year sales growth for 36 consecutive months, creating competitive differentiation.

In new market development, the company is pursuing a strategy that transforms stores from mere book retailers into educational platforms. Examples include introducing children's programming education "HALLO," the senior brain activation program "Gakken Brain Genki Salon" developed jointly with Gakken, and deploying dementia supporter training courses in stores. Through classroom operations in stores, the company aims to capture demand from elderly customers and education seekers, creating new revenue streams via cross-referrals between stores and classrooms.

Regarding technological innovation, the company is improving demand forecasting accuracy and headquarters operational efficiency to address publishing market digitalization and demand fluctuations, thereby controlling personnel cost increases and improving inventory turnover. Programming education expansion also represents investment in educational service digitalization and human resource development. Going forward, the company plans to optimize customer touchpoints and inventory management through data utilization and store IT upgrades. Through these measures, the company aims to improve profitability and achieve its ROE target.