Kids Star <248A> is a newly listed company in September 2024, operating the app 'Gokko Land' for smart devices such as smartphones and tablets. The main service 'Gokko Land', which started in 2013, is an educational app aimed at preschoolers to elementary school students, allowing anyone to experience real-world occupations and services anytime, anywhere, in the palm of their hand. 'Gokko Land' is a platform type, where various jobs, brands, products, and services related to various companies are available within one application, with over 150 contents that can be enjoyed continuously designed. As the first real-life expansion of 'Gokko Land', a large-scale event for families called 'Gokko Land EXPO' has been held in major malls and commercial facilities since July 2024, creating places where the worldview familiarized through the app can be experienced nationwide.
In addition, educational apps such as AR activity games 'Ugokko Land' where you can move, play, and learn, AR activity game 'Ugokko Land Sports' where you can move, play, and learn, and 'Gokko Land Sports' for enjoying sports are also being developed. They are also working on providing content to NTT Docomo's comprehensive educational service 'd Kids', as well as promoting the charm of various regions, including rural areas, through 'Jimoto Guide'.
'Gokko Land' users can use it for free, and the model involves collecting rental fees from participating companies (the first contract is a monthly fixed-term contract for a minimum of 2 years, with about half choosing prepayment of the usage fee).
In comparison with competing companies, in comparison with major toy manufacturers and major telecommunications carriers, the number of outlets, 78, is several times larger, and the company is positioned as top class in app rankings (2nd in the App Store children's app rankings, 3rd in the Google Play All Family rankings as of June 2024). While there may be competition from KidZania, the situation is different due to the number of touchpoints between the company focusing on app and shopping mall developments.
The total number of downloads for 'Gokko Land' exceeded 7 million in August 2024. The total downloads over three years were 1.27 million from 2015 to 2017, 1.68 million from 2018 to 2020, and 2.45 million from 2021 to 2023, showing an accelerated download speed due to increased awareness. The monthly play count is also increasing, reaching 20 million plays.
76% of parents and children use it together, making the appeal not only to children but also to parents effective. With the increasing name recognition, growing user base, and increasing number of company outlets, a positive cycle of improvement is emerging. Major companies such as Japan Airlines and Nippon Life Insurance have participated as company outlets. The purposes of companies' participation have diversified from marketing and branding activities by B to C companies targeting the former family demographic to part of B to B companies' public relations activities, part of DX such as factory tours, off-site lectures, exhibitions, internal branding for employees, and promotion of SDGs activities, leading to an increase in multiple outlets tailored to the objectives of the same corporate group.
As a result of this situation, performance is steadily expanding. For the fiscal year ending December 2024, sales are expected to increase by 17.5% to 898 million yen, gross profit by 24.1% to 589 million yen, and operating profit by 7.7% to 170 million yen compared to the previous period. Starting from the fiscal year ending December 2024, external standard taxation (sales management expenses) has been introduced, slightly curbing the increase in operating profit. The relatively long duration of company outlets and low cancellation rates make performance forecasts somewhat easier to read.
In the future, efforts will be made to promote the fusion of digital and real aspects of 'Gokko Land'. Although the child population in Japan is decreasing, the per capita educational expenses are increasing, and efforts will be focused on monetizing learning tailored to individual characteristics based on 'Gokko Land'. International expansion is also a point of focus. In August 2023, 'Gokko World', the Vietnamese version of 'Gokko Land', was launched as the first phase. 'Gokko World' has exceeded a total of 1 million downloads in just over one year since its launch, and with the continued increase in the child population and economic growth, expectations are high for increased users and participating companies, particularly in Asia, aiming to expand 'Gokko World'.