Milestones | Company Information

1712

- Founding of the KOKUBU GROUP CORP.
- Kanbei Kokubu IV opens retail store ”Daikokuya” in Edo Nihonbashi and launches a soy sauce brewing operation to supplement involvement in the kimono fabrics trade at this time.
- The wise Ooka Tadasuke appointed as town magistrate of Edo

1756

- Soy sauce products brewed at the Tsuchiura plant were labeled with the logo ”Kikkodai” consisting of a hexagon with a Chinese character meaning ”big” at its center.

1853

- A squadron of four ships arrives at Uraga Bay under the command of Commodore Perry

1859

- Kanbei Kokubu VIII starts tea trading

1868

- Meiji Restoration

1880

- Soy sauce brewery closed; wholesaling business starts in a wide variety of foodstuffs

1885

- The cabinet system established（Hirobumi Ito becomes the first prime minister）

1887

- Sales of foodstuffs and canned products start
- Electric lights installed in Tokyo

1888

- Sales of beer start

1889

- Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kenpo（Constitution of the Empire of Japan）was proclaimed.

1894

- The paulownia mark registered as a trademark
- Outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War

1904

- Outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War

1908

- K&K registered as a trademark

1909

- Sales of ”AJINOMOTO” start. Sales of ”CALPIS” and synthetic alcohol ”Rikyu” also start in 1919 and 1926, respectively.

1910

- Publication of industry newsletter, Kokubu Market Report, starts

1917

- Sales of 1.8 liter bottled soy sauce start, using Kokubu bottles

1923

- Store destroyed in the earthquake; reconstruction work starts immediately; efforts made to supply soy sauce as a daily necessity
- Great Kanto Earthquake

1928

- Yokohama Office set up.

1931

- The first building（The old：Nihonbashi headquarters building）was completed.

1938

- Osaka Brauch Office established.

1941

- Outbreak of the Pacific War

1945

- Sapporo Branch Office established.
- End of the Pacific War

1947

- KOKUBU TSUKEMONO CO., LTD. which serves as the basis for KOKUBU GROUP CORP established
- The Constitution of Japan comes into force

1950

- KOKUBU & Co. and KOKUBU TSUKEMONO CO., LTD. merged to form KOKUBU SHOTEN CO., LTD.

1953

- Start of TV broadcasting by NHK and private broadcasting companies

1957

- Fukuoka Liaison Office established.

1961

- Nagoya Branch Office established.

1962

- Sendai Branch Office established.

1964

- Tokyo Olympic Games held
- Tokaido Shinkansen launched

1965

- Computer system introduced（IBM1440）

1967

- Hiroshima Branch Office established.

1970

- Osaka World Exposition held

1971

- The First Long-Term Management Plan commenced.
- Company name changed from KOKUBU SHOTEN CO., LTD. to KOKUBU & CO., LTD.

1973

- Switch to a floating exchange rate for the yen
- The first oil crisis

1975

- Construction of the Nihonbashi headquarters building completed

1978

- KOKUBU GROCERS CHAIN（KGC）, a convenience store chain, launched

1981

- Own physical distribution of chilled food products starts

1989

- A national consumption tax imposed
- Fall of the Berlin Wall

1991

- Collapse of the ”bubble economy”

1994

- The 3OD（One Order, One Delivery）System constructed as a logistics system for consolidated ordering / delivery operations

1995

- Introduced a company-wide E-mail.
- Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

1999

- Information system ”KOMPASS” launched across the KOKUBU GROUP

2000

- Annual sales figure for KOKUBU & CO., LTD.（excluding group companies）surpasses one trillion yen
- Long-term Care Insurance System introduced

2001

- Confection wholesale business starts toward the goal of constructing a full-line distribution system setup
- 9/11 terrorist attacks

2002

- To celebrate its 290th anniversary, KOKUBU introduces ”Heisei no Chomoku”, a new KOKUBU Credo（serving as both an action charter and a behavioral code）
- The Euro, adopted as single EU currency, goes into circulation

2005

- Capital increased to 3.5 billion yen
- The Yashio Distribution Center, the biggest mother ship-type general-purpose center in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area, starts operation in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture
- The Kyoto Protocol for the prevention of global warming enters into force

2006

- ”KMS”, a business and accounting system, installed for business process standardization throughout the KOKUBU GROUP

2007

- Entered into business tie-ups with pharmaceutical wholesalers, to bolster the foundation for intermediate distribution in the fields of food products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and general merchandise

2008

- Entered into a business tie-up with a seafood wholesaler to bolster business in the field of processed seafood
- The collapse of Lehman Brothers causes a world-wide financial and economic crisis

2010

- Established the joint venture San tong Kokubu Trading（Qingdao）Co., Ltd. to undertake logistics and wholesaling business in China
- Entered into a business tie-up with Sojitz Corporation in the field of food distribution in Vietnam

2011

- Opend ”ROJI Nihonbashi” on the 1st floor of the headquarters building
- Great East Japan Earthquake

2012

- Marked its 300th anniversary
- Grouped Huong Thuy Manufacture Service Trading Corporation, and started the wholesale business in Vietnam

2013

- Grouped Weifang Sanhui Logistics&Co., Ltd. , and started the wholesale business in China
- Mount Fuji and other sites registered as World Cultural Heritage.

2014

- Commenced low-temperature logistics business in Myanmar
- KOKUBU TRADING SHANGHAI CO., LTD. established in China
- Consumption tax up to 8%

2015

- Grouped SHANGHAI MINENI FOODS CO, LTD. in Shanghai, China
- Adoption of the SDGs by the United Nations

2016

- Reorganized the domestic wholesale business into seven area companies, two category companies, and a headquarters company
- KOKUBU & CO., LTD. renamed KOKUBU GROUP CORP
- Established a joint venture between Texchem Restaurant Systems to develop low temperature food logistics business in Malaysia.
- Kumamoto earthquakes.

2017

- Kanbei Kokubu was appointed as Representative Director Chairman and CEO.
- Akira Kokubu was appointed as Representative Director President and COO.
- Grouped ShenZhen YIFAN Foods Co.,LTD,an imported food wholesaler in China
- Incorporated Focal Marketing Sdn. Bhd. as an affiliated company and and started the wholesale business in Malaysia.
- Establish Kokubu Business Expert Corp.

2018

- Established KOKUBU FRESH LINK CORP Ltd. to strengthen fresh wholesale business
- Established Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics Pte Ltd, a joint venture with Commonwealth Capital Pte Ltd（Singapore）to develop the low-temperature food logistics business.

2019

- The Kansai General Center is opened and a nationwide triple-temperature zone distribution network is completed.
- Grouped Beijing Biaixi Foodstuffs Co.,Ltd, a food wholesaler in China
- Consumption tax up to 10%
- New emperor enthronement

2020

- Issued Kokubu SDGs Statement Book
- Kokubu Food Logistics Malaysia operates four temperature zone distribution center in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur
- Outbreak of COVID-19.

2021

- Started our 11th long-term management plan.
- Launched the Environment Management Committee.
- Tokyo Olympics held.

2022

- Issued Kokubu Group Human Rights Policy and Kokubu Group Health Declaration.
- Russia invades Ukraine.

2023

- KOKUBU Group achieves 2 trillion yen in consolidated sales.
- Adoption of Generative AI.