Business Description
With publishing at the core, Kadokawa Corporation carries out business centered on planning, production, sales, digital distribution, ad sales, and e-commerce of books, motion pictures, animations, publishing rights, and digital content.
Kadokawa strives towards continuous creation of content that would become popular around the world, as well as development of digital platforms that would become industry-wide infrastructure, such as its e-book store, animation distribution service, and online movie ticket sales service.
Background
1945–1975: Literature Publishing Era
Kadokawa was established in the postwar era, with the ambition to revitalize Japanese culture through publishing. Initially, the company engaged mainly in literary publications of Japan's national history and literature, which fulfilled the needs for cultural content.
1976–1981: Movies and Media Mix Era
The company expanded its management base by entering the filmmaking business with the launch of Kadokawa Pictures. The combination of publishing and filmmaking becomes a huge success, making movies one of Kadokawa Shoten’s core business fields.
1982–1993: The Magazines Era
Starting with “Weekly The Television”, the company launched various informational magazines successively. Through the success of “Tokyo Walker”, Kadokawa became acknowledged as the leading company in the field.
1994–2002: The Start of Internet Business & Regeneration of Kadokawa Pictures
Kadokawa Shoten emerges as a “mega software publisher,” breaking new ground in the IT business and taking a major step toward providing various multimedia services.
At the same time, the media mix between books and movies evolves to an established business model, creating social phenomena with blockbuster movies.
2003–2012: Becoming a Comprehensive Media Enterprise
The Kadokawa Group reformed to a structure consisting of three business lines—publishing, motion pictures, and broadband Internet—to compete in the integrated broadband age. It shifts its management strategy from "selection and concentration" to "selective expansion."
2013 onwards: Transformation and Adaptation to the Digital/Internet Era
Kadokawa absorbed and merged its nine consolidated subsidiaries in October 2013. The following October, the company integrated with Dwango to form the Kadokawa Dwango Corporation as the holding company.
Kadokawa aims to grow strong by creating properties that could be developed into various media, and by expanding its services in the digital and global markets.
Products/Services
Publication
Publishing and sale of books and electronic books, copyright sales, overseas business, etc.
Information Media
Magazine publishing, magazines and advertising sales (printed, web-based, custom), etc.
Motion Pictures
Planning, production and distribution of live-action and animated motion pictures, video distribution, packaged video software sales, etc.
Gaming
Planning, development and sales of game software (Kadokawa Games, Ltd., FromSoftware, Inc.)
Others
E-commerce (Chara-ani corporation), educational business (Kadokawa Contents Academy Co., Ltd.), etc.
Markets
Japan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the United States.
Location
Headquarters: Kadokawa Headquarter Building, 2-13-3 Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8177, Japan.
Financial Projection
FY15
Revenue: ¥110.8 billion
Ordinary Income: ¥4.1 billion
Management
Chairman of the Board: Tsuguhiko Kadokawa
Representative Director & President: Masaki Matsubara
Representative Director & Senior Managing Executive Officer: Shinichiro Inoue
Other Notes
Official Website: http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/
Official Website (Company Information in English): http://ir.kadokawa.co.jp/global/
