Strengthening Proprietary Products, Sales Structure and Test Venues

「In the business, we reviewed low-profitability products and unprofitable transactions and worked to improve the business portfolio and reduce costs. Although we achieved some cost savings, profitability remains difficult because of continued pressure from high personnel and production costs.」

「Although the outlook for the education-related business remains difficult because of factors including higher raw-material costs, we attempted to scale back operations in fields where profitability was not expected and resume venue-based mock tests that had been suspended during the fiscal year, but sales did not recover.」

「Going forward, we will scale back operations in fields where profitability is not expected and pursue a structure capable of generating profit through rigorous cost management.」

「We focused on streaming lecture videos, but this did not generate sales contributions commensurate with the production costs.」

「A key issue to address is expanding the mock tests currently offered in Tokyo and Kanagawa nationwide, while increasing both sales and profit and building a management structure capable of generating profit.」

「Against a difficult outlook for the education-related business because of the prolonged impact of COVID-19, we continued to review product costs and selling, general and administrative expenses, but both sales and profit were below the previous year.」

「Although we continued to review product costs and selling, general and administrative expenses, both sales and profit were below the previous year.」

「Venue-based testing is expected to resume from March 2022 onward, and we believe it will contribute to sales and profit from the next fiscal year onward.」

「A key issue to address is building a management structure capable of generating profit even if sales decline by focusing on products with high gross margins, continuing to insource product production and reducing expenses through thorough cost management.」

「The effects of reducing product costs through insourcing and controlling general and administrative expenses continued to emerge. Segment profit, or operating profit, was ¥67 million in July–September and ¥92 million in October–December, although sales declined, creating an operating environment capable of generating profit. As a result, sales were ¥1,109 million, down 21.3% year on year, and segment profit, or operating profit, was ¥92 million, compared with a segment loss of ¥468 million in the previous year.」

「The effects of reducing product costs through insourcing and controlling general and administrative expenses have steadily emerged. Segment loss, or operating loss, was ¥67 million in April–June, while segment profit, or operating profit, was ¥67 million in July–September, creating an operating environment capable of generating profit. As a result, sales were ¥618 million, down 26.4% year on year, and segment profit, or operating profit, was ¥0 million, compared with a segment loss of ¥485 million in the previous year.」

「During the three months ended 30 June, sales declined substantially from the previous fiscal year, but cost management, including thorough insourcing of printing and shipping, mitigated the impact of lower sales on segment profit. As a result, sales were ¥228 million, down 54.1% year on year, and segment loss, or operating loss, was ¥67 million, compared with a segment loss of ¥31 million in the previous year.」

「A key issue to address is building a management structure capable of generating profit even if sales decline through thorough cost management, including insourcing product production and outsourced costs to reduce product costs.」

「Containing personnel costs and shifting some work previously outsourced to in-house production have reduced costs, and we will continue working to improve the earnings structure.」

「We will continue to review selling, general and administrative expenses such as logistics costs and build a structure capable of generating profit.」

「Although it is difficult to introduce an immediately effective strategy capable of substantially changing the situation in the school and cram-school materials business because the current fiscal year falls between textbook revisions, we began revising and publishing some materials to reshape the competitive landscape after the next revision. We also produced promotional tools for teachers to differentiate ourselves from other companies, which drew high praise and interest from users and raised expectations for the future.」

「Although it is difficult to introduce a strategy capable of substantially changing the situation in the school and cram-school materials business because the current fiscal year falls between textbook revisions, performance in the testing business has gradually recovered as a differentiated strategy based on a new design concept and stronger sales capabilities has begun to bear fruit.」

「Although it is difficult to introduce an effective strategy capable of substantially changing the situation in the school and cram-school materials business because the current fiscal year falls between textbook revisions, performance in the testing business has gradually recovered as a differentiated strategy based on a new design concept and stronger sales capabilities has begun to bear fruit.」

「In the testing business, performance has gradually been recovering since last year as a differentiated strategy incorporating a design concept that can quickly improve students’ ability to pass their desired schools, together with stronger sales capabilities, has begun to bear fruit.」

「As noted above, performance differences among the education-related businesses are widening because of differing operating environments. Going forward, we regard strengthening Soiku Co., Ltd., the core company in this business, and restructuring the surrounding companies as key challenges.」

「For testing products developed in the previous fiscal year under a completely new design concept and combining rapid effectiveness with a purpose-built tool for passing desired schools, we are promoting PR activities to raise awareness and secure candidates and parents. In our in-house testing division, we are also refining the lineup in detail to strengthen differentiation. In addition, to address steep increases in shipping costs, we are revising editing methods to reduce page counts and reviewing suppliers to contain logistics expenses.」

「For testing products developed in the previous fiscal year under a completely new design concept and combining rapid effectiveness with a purpose-built tool for passing desired schools, we are promoting PR activities to raise awareness and secure candidates and parents. In our in-house testing division, we are also refining the lineup in detail to strengthen differentiation. In addition, to address steep increases in shipping costs, we are revising editing methods to reduce page counts and reviewing suppliers to contain logistics expenses.」

「We are strengthening the selection of products in our lineup by reallocating management resources with a focus on profitability. In particular, for testing products, we completely revised the design concept to provide a new type of mock test that goes beyond simple ability assessment and pass-probability prediction, offering an effective, purpose-built tool that can quickly improve students’ ability to pass their desired schools. This is beginning to win broad support from candidates through attractive differentiated products.」

「Although the number of test takers in the testing business had declined year on year, it turned upward toward the end of the period. We will maintain this momentum into the next fiscal year.」

「Because the current fiscal year was a revision year for junior-high-school textbooks, our policy for revising and editing school materials focused on reducing the number of copies revised and thereby lowering production costs. However, this resulted in a substantial decline in sales, offsetting the intended effect.」

「Because the current fiscal year was a revision year for junior-high-school textbooks, our policy for revising and editing school materials focused on reducing the number of copies revised and thereby lowering production costs. However, this resulted in a substantial decline in sales, offsetting the intended effect.」

「We substantially revised our editorial policy, moving away from reliance on external sources, and actively developed and produced differentiated products based on our own planning capabilities. We also reorganized our sales structure so that each sales division could respond efficiently to multiple product groups as an integrated offering. From the autumn, we strengthened the network of open test venues in detail, seeking to improve convenience for candidates and increase our share of the testing market.」