Social Optimality Milestones and Initiatives

The History of The PLUS Group's Social Optimality

The PLUS Group stresses the importance of "Four Way Satisfaction," our management policy that aims to satisfy customers, corporate partners, employees, and society all at the same time.
Our stance of aiming for social optimality, harmonizing the economy, society and the environment, is perfectly in line with the SDGs. Going forward, we will continue striving to maximize customer satisfaction and create markets with our free-wheeling ideas.

1948

Chiyoda Stationery Co., Ltd. founded.
1959

Company name changed to PLUS CORPORATION.
1967

Moved from Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo to our newly-built headquarters in Otowa, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

The Early Years

Chiyoda Stationery Co., Ltd. was founded through the merger of Imaizumi Shoten and Suzuki Shoten. Both presidents retained their position, and Chiyoda Stationery was a hot topic of the day as "an unusual company that has two presidents." The brand name PLUS was adopted as the company name in 1959. It incorporated the aspirations that the two companies would become one and generate synergy, and that the company would be a plus to society.

The original company building (Kanda-Iwamotochō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) Shinjiro Imaizumi Hohei Suzuki

1982

Employee dress code abolished
1984

Launched the TEAM DEMI personal stationery set, a mega-hit with sales of roughly 6.5 million sets
(Winner of many awards, including an award for excellence in the 1985 Nikkei Superior Products & Services Awards)

A Period of Growth

The employee dress code was abolished in 1982, an unusual step for the time. The following year, Yoshihisa Imaizumi (our current chairman) became president at the young age of 40. A culture of speaking freely became established, and creativity that galvanized working spaces led to the development of a wide range of office businesses. During all this, we grew from a manufacturing wholesaler to a "manufacturer that creates the best from scratch." We completed our industrial complex PLUSLAND and our plants in Vietnam, and moved forward with manufacturing that coexists in harmony with its local area and the environment.

Launch of our TEAM DEMI personal stationery set (1984)

1991

Completed PLUSLAND, an industrial complex consisting mainly of office furniture factories.
Transformed from a manufacturing wholesaler to a full-scale manufacturer with our own factories.
1996

Completed Bien Hoa Plant of PLUS VIETNAM INDUSTRIAL Co., Ltd. in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam.
1997

Established ASKUL Corporation.

2001

Established JOINTEX Corporation (later merged with PLUS CORPORATION) through the merger of the main sales and wholesale departments in PLUS.
2006

Headquarters moved to Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
2007

Launched the Kes'pon stamp, which protects personal information, a hit with sales of 1.2 million stamps in its first year (Winner of an award for excellence in the 2008 Nikkei Superior Products & Services Awards)
Revamped our trademark in our Brand Strengthening Year One

A Period of Great Change

"Prioritize customer satisfaction while also striving to satisfy our company." This business model was developed and launched as the ASKUL Model in 1993 and brought a breath of fresh air to the retail industry. The trademark we had used ever since our founding was revamped in 2007. We retained blue, a color overflowing with vitality, as its key color tone, and created a simple and fresh design with a contemporary feel by using a highly visible but casual typeface.

2015

Established "Unique Values - Higher Satisfaction" as The PLUS Group corporate philosophy.
2018

Renovated Headquarters and the Toranomon Office based on the concept of "DEAI"
2022

Established The PLUS Group sustainability policy
The Furniture Company Tokyo Office moved to Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Opened PLUS DESIGN CROSS

A Period of Expansion

We reviewed the corporate culture and philosophy handed down since our founding, and established a new corporate philosophy. We also clearly stated our vision, values and guidelines for actions as PLUS no kokoro. As values become increasingly diversified and globalization proceeds apace, The PLUS Group will be future-oriented and continue to deliver "Unique Values - Higher Satisfaction" to our customers, with each of our employees sharing our philosophy and demonstrating even greater creativity, drive and solidarity.

An office where DEAI generates IDEA (Headquarters and the Toranomon Office)

The PLUS Group business domain expands as we strive for social optimality

Stationery business field

We aim to be the top stationery manufacturing group in the world with products that enrich people's daily lives and make work more fun.
- Stationery business
- Vision business
Furniture business field

What should offices be like in an era of diversifying work styles? As a platform disseminating corporate culture, we improve offices and support our customers in the management of their business.
- Office business
- Hospitality business
- EC business
Distribution business field

By providing goods, services, and knowledge that meet contemporary needs, we support the creation of a better working environment and business improvement for corporate customers. We are also working on the provision of new services to revitalize stationery and office supplies stores.
- JOINTEX Company (for corporate customers)
- Retail support business (for the personal use market)
Logistics / Service business field

PLUS Logistics Group collaborates to leverage its various strengths and provide optimal logistic solutions and a variety of facility engineering services, not only to The PLUS Group, but also to customers in a wide range of industries and business fields.
Other
(Consulting etc.)
- Institute of Educational Enviroment
  We propose total solutions that cover everything from the conception and planning of "places to learn" such as schools, lifelong learning facilities, and welfare facilities, to intangibles such as educational methods and management systems, and tangibles such as architecture, furniture, and equipment.
- Future Creation & Development Center LLC.
  We are engaged in product planning and development in new business fields, leveraging the technologies and know-how of PENTEL CO., LTD. and PLUS CORPORATION.

The PLUS Group's social optimality initiatives

The PLUS Group endeavors to detect and create social optimality in each process, from the procurement of raw materials to manufacturing, marketing, use, disposal, collection and recycling.
We reviewed the way we make things and the forms our services take by asking ourselves questions such as whether it is possible to eliminate waste caused by duplicative actions, or to change methods and structures that we have been using as a matter of course, and have been working to realize social optimality by reconstructing our businesses in a more reasonable and streamlined manner.
Many of our initiatives aimed at social optimality and the realization of a recycling-oriented society that makes efficient use of resources and energy without wasting them, deliver "Unique Values - Higher Satisfaction" to our customers, corporate partners and co-workers, and link up with contributions towards achieving the goals of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aiming for harmony with the environment.

Initiatives

Distribution Optimization: Creation of the ASKUL Model
The PLUS Group has eliminated unnecessary duplicative actions and reduced environmental impact by transforming value chains and creating new business models.
These activities contribute to the achievement of SDG 13 Climate Action and SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

Our first business model that realized social optimality was ASKUL※, which was launched in 1993 as a PLUS office supplies mail-order service business.
ASKUL created a system that satisfies both customers and dealers by eliminating many duplicative actions in the traditional complicated and inefficient distribution process, and thereby reducing time and cost losses.

Since then, we have continued to create business models that realize social optimality, such as Biznet Corporation, which provides comprehensive support for procurement, purchasing, and the receiving of orders, and JOINTEX's smart business, which supports efficient procurement and management of goods at offices, educational institutions, nursing care facilities, and other facilities.
※ Business launched in 1993, spun off in 1997 and established as ASKUL Corporation. As of 2022, it is a group company of Z Holdings Corporation.

Optimization of manufacturer sales functions

We are moving forward with action to restructure in a rational and simple manner other businesses, in addition to our distribution business. In 2020, we launched CHORUS CORPORATION, which integrates the sales operations of the four The PLUS Group manufacturing companies, and we are also engaged in the social optimization of manufacturer sales functions.
Recycling of Resources: MRS (Material Reverse System)
The PLUS Group will take on the challenge of building new systems to reduce waste and carbon dioxide emissions through the recycling of resources, and will promote a future-oriented society.
This action will contribute to the achievement of SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production.

The PLUS Group has a total recycling system for used office furniture called MRS (Material Reverse System).
We collect old office furniture such as desks, chairs, and cabinets which result when a customer's office is relocated or renovated. Reusable products are sold to second hand stores at weekly auctions and efficiently returned to the disused furniture market. Items left unsold at auction and items that are too damaged to be reused are consigned to our business partners for material recycling and other appropriate processing.
In Harmony with Nature　－　PLUSLAND Industrial Complex
The PLUS Group aims for harmony between our business activities and the environment. We engage in initiatives with the approach of conserving nature that still exists and protecting diverse living organisms together with their ecological environment. These initiatives contribute to the achievement of SDG 13 Climate Action and SDG 15 Life on Land.

PLUSLAND industrial complex has been developed since March 1990 where our office furniture plant and other facilities such as wooden furniture manufacturing factory, distribution center, offices and research facility are carefully arranged throughout a natural environment. The site as large as 460,000m² contains forest, greenery and water, creating harmony and balance between nature and people.
The site was originally a mulberry field and more than 30,000 trees of 58 different species have been planted there. Many of the trees have grown to 10m tall since the project started, creating a rich natural environment that we call the PLUSLAND Forest. There are no walls or fences around the site so that our facilities blend into the abundant nature around them with the 17.5 hectares of greenery carefully maintained and managed. An open space has also been set aside as a haven for local citizens. We aim to continually promote harmony with nature and contribute to the local community through PLUSLAND.
Overview of PLUSLAND

Address: 1 Kanzawa no Mori, Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture
Area of grounds: 463,595m²

Facilities in PLUSLAND
1. Distribution Center: 9,917m²
2. Center Factory: 19,170m², used to produce metal furniture
3. Service Factory: 9,256m², used to assemble chairs
4. Plant Office Building: 1,983m², contains offices and cafeteria
5. Studio Factory: 12,560m², used to produce wooden furniture, panels and whiteboards
6. Otowa Kurabu: 4,628m², contains a restaurant, accommodation and training facilities
7. Emergency Heliport
Awards for the Implementation of Greening

PLUSLAND is based on the concept of "in harmony with nature," and actively engages in greening without damaging the existing terrain and natural landscapes. It is an industrial complex where there is harmony and balance between nature and people. PLUSLAND as a whole has been recognized for its ongoing greening activities. In 2007, it was awarded the Prime Minister's Award for Outstanding Work in Implementation of Greening Practices, the highest award for factory greening, and in 2015 it won an award for excellence in the group category of the Gunma Flower and Greenery Competition organized by the Gunma Prefectural Council for the Promotion of Flowering Plants. Going forward, we will continue our plant greening initiatives so that local residents and Otowa Club guests can enjoy it as a place of relaxation where they can experience nature's bounty.