Maruzen CHI Holdings Co., Ltd.
3159・Standard Market・Retail Trade
Business
Maruzen CHI Holdings is a holding company formed in 2010 through the business integration of Maruzen and the Library Trading Company (TRC). As a consolidated subsidiary of Dai Nippon Printing, it operates around four business segments: the Educational & Library Market Sales Business, Store & Online Sales Business, Library Support Business, and Publishing Business. Its main customers span a broad range, including universities, research institutions, public libraries, and general consumers, and it operates a nationwide network of 111 large-format bookstores as well as a library operations outsourcing network covering over 1,840 libraries. With net sales of ¥165,557 million (FY2025, ended January 2025), it is one of Japan's largest knowledge distribution groups.
Business Model
The company's revenue pillars comprise four segments: (1) academic information and facility solutions for universities and research institutions (education market sales), (2) integrated retail at large bookstores nationwide (store and online sales), (3) outsourced operation of public and university libraries (library support), and (4) publishing of specialized and children's books. Library outsourcing generates stable revenue through long-term contracts, while facility design and construction is characterized by revenue concentration at the completion of large-scale projects. The company aims to increase the proportion of high-margin products through in-shop deployments and Expo-related merchandise, among other initiatives.
Company Strengths
As of the end of January 2025, the company operates a total of 1,840 contracted libraries, comprising 624 public libraries, 246 university libraries, and 970 school and other libraries. This represents an increase of 34 libraries from the previous fiscal year, and continues to expand. It forms a stable revenue base underpinned by long-term contracts, with the Library Support business achieving sales of ¥37,682 million (up 5.7% year on year).
Centered on the powerful brands "Maruzen" and "Junkudo Shoten", the company operates 111 stores nationwide in urban areas (including 1 store in Taiwan). It is actively introducing high-margin in-shop concepts such as EHONS, Suruga-ya, and Gashapon, driving diversification of business format away from sole reliance on book sales. Sales in the Store and Online Sales business for FY2025 (ended January 2025) were ¥66,085 million.
Maruzen Yushodo provides an integrated offering to universities and research institutions, spanning electronic journals and academic databases through to facility design and construction and university management consulting. In FY2025 (ended January 2025), sales in the Education Market Sales business were ¥46,819 million, with operating profit of ¥3,250 million (up 0.6% year on year), maintaining stable earnings.
ENVALITH's Perspective
Performance Trend
Sales over the past five fiscal periods showed a gradual expansion trend, rising from ¥174,355 million in FY2022 to ¥185,053 million in FY2026, but the full-year forecast for FY2027 anticipates a pullback to ¥174,000 million (down 6.0%). Operating profit peaked at ¥5,593 million in FY2026 and is projected to decline sharply to ¥4,000 million in FY2027. Meanwhile, the first quarter of FY2027 (ending January 2027) (February to April 2026) recorded sales of ¥48,861 million (up 3.1% year on year), operating profit of ¥2,641 million (up 24.1%), and net profit attributable to owners of the parent of ¥1,772 million (up 10.7%), achieving increases in both revenue and profit at every profit level. This was driven by an increase in the completion of large-scale projects in the education market and an expansion in the number of libraries under outsourced management. As an external factor, elevated raw material and energy prices stemming from the situation in the Middle East remain a source of uncertainty going forward. The equity ratio improved slightly to 40.0% from 39.8% at the end of the previous fiscal period.
Growth Strategy
Advancing the third year of the medium-term plan under three pillars: promoting utilization of group assets, creating growth areas, and transforming the revenue structure
Creating new revenue opportunities by cross-utilizing existing group assets such as the library outsourcing network, bookstore brands, and academic information infrastructure. In Q1 of FY2027 (ending January 2027), the number of libraries under outsourcing contracts increased by 27, from 1,851 at the start of the period to 1,878, confirming steady progress in asset utilization.
Promoting new business development in response to changes in the market environment, including new store openings for the Suruga-ya Hobby business (3 stores opened in Q1, for a total of 119 stores), monetization of in-store space such as paid self-study spaces, and expansion of Maruzen Research's specialized book electronic search service. Operating profit in the store and online sales business rose +30.0% year-on-year, demonstrating tangible results.
Transforming the business portfolio through stabilization of existing businesses and investment in growth businesses. In the publishing business, strengthening the general distribution function for academic society specialty books led to net sales of ¥1,005 million (+5.2% year-on-year) and operating profit of ¥42 million (compared with a loss of ¥6 million in the same period of the previous year), returning to profitability. Other businesses also showed significant improvement, driven by strong performance in comprehensive childcare and store interior design, with net sales of ¥3,210 million (+14.5% year-on-year) and operating profit of ¥316 million (+67.3% year-on-year).
Last updated: July 17, 2026