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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~
  • 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
1980~
  • 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)
1990~
  • 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.

2000~
  • 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.

1972 Our
2010~
  • 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

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

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