Benesse

Benesse Holdings, Inc.
株式会社ベネッセホールディングス

Company type	Public KK
Traded as	TYO: 9783
Industry	Educational Services
Founded	January 28, 1955
Headquarters	Okayama, Japan
Key people	Eikoh Harada (President)
Revenue	JPY 463.3 billion (2015)
Operating income	JPY 29.2 billion (2015)
Net income	JPY -10.7 billion (2015)
Number of employees	20,145 (consolidated) (2015)
Subsidiaries	Berlitz Language Schools
Website	benesse.co.jp

Benesse Corporation Building in Tokyo, Japan.

Benesse Corporation (ベネッセコーポレーション, Benesse Kōporēshon) is a Japanese company which focuses on correspondence education and publishing. Based in Okayama-City, it is the parent company of Berlitz Language Schools, which in turn is the parent company of ELS Language Centers. Benesse is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (listing code 9783).

Origin of the company name

The company name is derived from the Latin words "bene" (well) and "esse" (being).

Company history

The company was founded in 1955 as Fukutake Publishing Co., Ltd. (株式会社福武書店, Kabushiki-gaisha Fukutake Shoten). In 1994, it completed the construction of the Fukutake Shoten Tokyo Building (now Benesse Corporation Tokyo Building) in Tama-City, Tokyo. In April 1995, the company was renamed Benesse Corporation.

A major breakthrough in the company's history was the acquisition of a majority stake in Berlitz Language Schools, which had gone public in 1989. In 2001, Benesse completed the take-over by acquiring 100% ownership of Berlitz and making it a private company once again.

External links

• Benesse Corporation
• ELS official site