| Type | Kabushiki kaisha |
|---|---|
| Industry | Language instruction |
| Founded | Tokushima, Japan (1973) |
| Headquarters | Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan |
| Key people | Tsuneo Kusunoki (楠 恒男) President and CEO |
| Website | www.geos.co.jp (Japanese) www.geos-network.com (English) |
GEOS (株式会社ジオス Kabushiki Gaisha Jiosu) was one of the Big Four[1] private eikaiwa, or English conversation teaching companies, in Japan. Its extensive network of overseas schools made it the world's largest language school chain. The firm went into bankruptcy in Japan on 20 April 2010.[2] Its headquarters were in the Shin Osaki Kangyo Building (新大崎勧業ビルディング Shin Ōsaki Kangyō Birudingu) in Shinagawa, Tokyo.[3]
GEOS, which stands for Global Education Opportunities and Services, was started in 1973 by Tsuneo Kusunoki. The first school was based in Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, also the location of one of the company's main registered offices. The company has regional head offices in Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka.
The GEOS group also runs children-only schools called "Kodomo Schools" (子供校) throughout Japan. The adult GEOS Schools have themselves taken on more classes for children. As of February 2007, GEOS had a total of around 500 "Kodomo" and adult schools in Japan and over 55 schools[4] in countries outside of Japan.
The main language GEOS teaches in Japan and its overseas schools is English. Other languages taught at GEOS include, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese and Korean. GEOS also teaches Japanese to foreigners living in Japan at their Kudan Japanese Culture, Research Center and Language Institute in Kudanshita, Tokyo[5] GEOS uses a one-teacher system it calls "Tanninsei" where students keep the same teacher for an extended period of time and advertises this system as having benefits of promoting continuity and strong teacher-student relationship.[6]
Geos Corporation filed for bankruptcy on April 21, 2010; 99 schools were closed and the remaining 230 were sold to G.Communication, which is also the "sponsor" of Nova. On October 1, 2010 the schools were resold to Inayoshi Capital. On October 15 it was announced that 20 more Geos branches (those located near Nova schools) will close, and 20 more will integrate with cram schools. Another 50 will be rebranded as "Nova x Geos" and start using Nova curriculums.
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In 1973, roommates Kiyoshi Aki and Tsuneo Kusunoki founded the company AMVIC, an acronym of the phrase, "for AMbition and VICtory." The company would focus on foreign language studies.
Later, AMVIC International split into two divisions. Aki became the head of AMVIC Gaigogakuin (AMVIC 外語学院), which provided foreign language training for students. Kusunoki would assume control of the AMVIC Eikaiwa (AMVIC 英会話), which specialized in English language education for non-native speakers. In 1989, Kusunoki's branch of AMVIC International entered negotiations with Warner Pacific College to assume control of 49% of its physical plant for $6 million, a 30-year lease on the schools facilities, and a seat as a regent of the school.[7]
Not long after, AMVIC International split into two separate companies, after the former partners developed differing visions of the company's future. Aki went on to create Aeon, focusing on language learning in Japan. Aki remains Aeon's president as of 2010. Kusunoki created GEOS , focusing on global language learning with focus on English language education. GEOS filed for bankruptcy in April 2010.
An article in The Japan Times noted the working conditions of GEOS staff. In 1999, the company was taken to court by fourteen of its managers over unpaid overtime. At the time of the case, the main plaintiff said that she was working a 72-hour week under constant unmanageable pressure to increase sales at her school. Even though the managers won their suit, costing GEOS 300 million yen in unpaid overtime, the media mostly overlooked the case. In the same article, managers noted high staff-turnover and long working hours. However, a spokeswoman for the company insisted that GEOS, and the language learning industry as a whole, provided women with rare opportunities to begin business careers.[8]
Recent economic woes led Geos to be late paying the Japanese staff in August and September 2009. It is further reported that foreign teachers working at the adult schools were not paid on time in October 2009. Geos asked clients to pay as much as five months in advance for the following year's lessons in a bid to raise the necessary funds to meet payroll obligations. This financial distress led many Japanese staff members to resign.[9]
International expansion began in Vancouver in 1987, and New York, Brighton (UK) in 1989 and Montreal, San Francisco in 1997, Ottawa and Halifax in 1998 (though the Halifax school later closed in 2001). In 2001, GEOS created a network of international support offices, starting with GEOS International Korea and followed by offices in Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Brazil, Hong Kong, Mexico and the Czech Republic.[10] On July 6, 2007, The Japan Times reported that GEOS would open a school for 150 students in St. Petersburg, Russia as part of a recent expansion into the Russian market by Japanese companies including Toyota and Nissan. Kusunoki, CEO, said the company had "high growth potential in Russia", and that GEOS would be "targeting businesspeople, aspiring athletes and artists, including aspirants in figure skating, ballet and music".[11]
GEOS began closing some of its branches in Japan in 2007, with more than 10% of domestic branches shutting their doors in under two years. At its height, GEOS maintained teacher recruitment centers in London, Melbourne, Toronto, and Vancouver. Melbourne closed in March 2004, London and Toronto in October 2006, and the Vancouver center closed in October 2008.
On January 29, 2010, the eight Australian GEOS branches suspended operations, with the nine companies responsible for the schools forced into voluntary administration.[12] On February 1, 2010, Ernst & Young closed all eight GEOS schools in Australia permanently, citing insufficient finances to continue carrying out business in Australia. Despite a request to GEOS Japan for funding, it was not forthcoming, leaving 2300 students without the courses they had paid for and 390 employees without jobs or payouts.[13] In their Report to Creditors of GEOS Melbourne Pty Ltd, dated 23 February 2010, Ernst & Young stated that the school had been operating profitably but "in the 18 months prior to closure, approximately $1.36 million was made available for the purpose of transfer from GEOS Australia Holdings to GEOS Corporation (Japan) or other GEOS entities.[14]
On April 21, 2010, Geos Corporation filed for bankruptcy with the Tokyo District Court with an outstanding debt of about 7.5 billion yen. 99 schools closed, and 230 schools were handed over to G.Communication, which is also the "sponsor" of Nova.[2] According to court-appointed administrators, G.Education, part of the group, will open the schools as soon as possible. G.Education Co., a 100 percent subsidiary of G.Communication established in Nagoya in 2003, is in charge of the company's education sector. It currently has 42 English conversation schools and 225 instructors and other staff under its brand EC Eikaiwa (EC English Conversation).
Around 36,800 students were studying at Geos schools at the time of the collapse and 7,800 students are studying at schools slated for closure.[15] The Geos schools in New Zealand and Europe have been taken over by previous employees. The fate of the 12 Geos schools currently operating in the USA and Canada is currently unclear.
Another round of closures on October 30, 2010 will affect all GEOS schools on Kyushu and most on Shikoku. GEOS is again being downsized as it and Nova are personally reclaimed from G.Education by G.Education founder Masaki Inayoshi's Inayoshi Capital. Per agreement, schools in Ito-Yokado supermarkets will stay open a few months longer.
On 15 October 2010, Inayoshi Capital said it intends to close about 20 Geos branches that compete head-to-head with Nova branches, and also plans to integrate another 20 Geos branches with cram schools.[16] Furthermore, about 50 of Geos' 167 branches nationwide would adopt the new brand and start using Nova curriculums. These new "Nova x Geos" schools are scheduled to be established on 1 November, according to the chains' parent firm.[17]
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