Benesse Holdings International Inc history

First issues of Tamago Club and Hiyoko Club published in October 1993

In 1994, for example, the company opened its first dayc are center, called La Petite Academy, and later rebranded as Benesse Childcare Center.

The company also began investing in on-site career training, targetin g specifically the growing demand for in-home nursing services (known as home helpers). In 1995, the company launched its first Home Helpe r training course.

The first of these, Benesse Home Clara, opened in Okayama in 1997.

The company made a number of strategic acquisitions, such as its 1998 purchase of Simul International Inc., the leading provid er of translation and interpreter services in Japan.

2000: The company lists stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; the new subsidiary Benesse Care Corporation is launched.

Simul also opened its own training academies, including a new school opened in Y okohama in 2004.

To achieve further expansion in the correspondence course business, in 2006, Benesse began offering courses for preschoolers in China and South Korea, marking its full-scale advancement overseas.

In 2008, Benesse unveiled Shinkenzemi + i, a new breed of educational materials for junior high school students that combines paper-based and online elements.

In October 2009, Benesse put a management structure for achieving new growth in place by moving to a holding company structure.

AVIVA Co., Ltd. becomes subsidiary (transferred of all shares in 2010)

In a new medium-term management plan announced in October 2011, Benesse has set out a vision of becoming the world's leading company in the education field and driving further growth by positioning the senior/nursing care business as a key growth field.