IBJ,Inc.

Business Details

Composed of two pillars: the business opening support business and the franchise business. The business opening support business assists corporations and individuals in opening marriage consultation agencies, promoting membership in Japan's largest marriage-hunting network, the "IBJ Platform." The franchise business provides affiliated agencies with a core system for member management and matchmaking meeting arrangements, generating platform operation revenue. In Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026), the segment profit margin was approximately 69.7% (segment profit of ¥697 million ÷ external sales of ¥1,002 million), maintaining the highest profitability level among all segments.

Recent Overview

AI role-play usage drove new business openings to 217, and matchmaking meeting numbers grew strongly by 18.8%, with key KPIs performing well.

In Q1 FY2026 (ending December 2026), the introduction of AI-powered sales interview role-play improved sales representatives' capabilities, resulting in 217 new business openings (up 5.3% year on year). Increased member activity within the platform drove a substantial increase in matchmaking meetings excluding directly-operated stores, reaching 187,613 (up 18.8% year on year). Segment sales were ¥1,002 million (up 9.8% year on year) and business profit was ¥714 million (up 18.7% year on year), achieving both revenue and profit growth. Going forward, the introduction of the "Omiai Rehearsal Feature" is also expected to improve the marriage success rate from matchmaking meetings.

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Improved sales representative capabilities and expanded new business openings through AI-powered sales interview role-play
• Substantial growth in matchmaking meeting numbers (up 18.8% year on year) and expanded system usage fee revenue driven by increased member activity within the platform
• Improved conversion rate from matchmaking meetings to marriage through the introduction of the Omiai Rehearsal Feature
• Expanding demand across the marriage consultation agency industry driven by rising needs for safe and secure marriage-hunting services
• Increase in new affiliated stores and new members due to the effects of capital and business alliances with major marriage consultation agencies

Risks

• Risk that price revisions affect the acquisition of affiliated stores (precedent of a temporary decline in business openings following the January 2025 price revision)
• Intensifying competition in the marriage-hunting market due to the expanding use of matching apps, and intensifying competition for member acquisition across the marriage consultation agency industry as a whole
• Continuing decline in the number of marriages in Japan, posing a risk of overall contraction in the marriage-hunting market
• High dependence on the platform, creating a risk that slowing growth in matchmaking meeting numbers and affiliated store numbers directly impacts revenue