Geos Files For Bankruptcy

[Mulboyne]

[floatl][/floatl]

Kyodo via Japan Today: English school operator Geos Corp goes bust
Major English school operator Geos Corp said Wednesday it has filed bankruptcy proceedings with the Tokyo District Court. Some of its educational business will be handed over to G.communication Co based in Nagoya, the company said.

Earlier FG Thread: Geos in Trouble

[Taka-Okami]

Kyodo via Japan Today: English school operator Geos Corp goes bust
Major English school operator Geos Corp said Wednesday it has filed bankruptcy proceedings with the Tokyo District Court. Some of its educational business will be handed over to G.communication Co based in Nagoya, the company said.

Earlier FG Thread: Geos in Trouble

Good. Now Japan can hopefully rid itself of some more white trash.

[MrUltimateGaijin]

might just strengthen new Nova.

[Taro Toporific]

[floatl][/floatl][SIZE="3"]GEOS Goes [/SIZE]
Bankrupt
Wed, 04/21/2010 - 13:58 -- letsjapan.org by Shawn
Add GEOS to the list of eikaiwas that have gone bankrupt. GEOS filed for bankruptcy today, temporarily closing its schools until the 23rd when G.communication, the company that picked up the scraps when NOVA went bankrupt in 2007, will take over part of GEOS's business.
GEOS will close 99 schools, while keeping 170 schools and 66 GEOS kids schools in operation.
In GEOS's own press release (PDF), it cited the recession and the collapse of NOVA in 2007 as significant factor that harmed its business....more...

[dimwit]

What is interesting is that for people working independently this has been a boon. Many of the students have become decidely untrusting of the big Eikawas. The problems with them always comes down to the same thing -bloated office staff, too many paper stufflers to be supported the actual teaching that is going on.

[FG Lurker]

Next up: Aeon

[Mulboyne]

I can't recall ever seeing a female board member doing the "sorry we've gone bankrupt" schtick.

[canman]

It was a kind of ponzi scheme. Having worked there for 7 years, I knew it, but was doing well, and got out at just the right time. I was able to start my own school and was introduced to a few universities, and have never looked back.
But basically they constantly needed new students to pay the staff and the rent and everything else. When they stopped or the numbers slowed, they were in trouble. I remember the heady days in the early 90's when people would come in sign up for a private lesson, plunk Y500 000 cash on the desk, come once and never show again. And I can tell you there were no refunds in those days.

[AssKissinger]

I believe GEOS was the worst of the worst. Sorry to the decent people who lost their jobs but good riddance to bad rubbish.

[Mulboyne]

Next up: Aeon

If that one goes, there'll be some minor J-celebrity interest because Aeon was set up by Kiyoshi Aki, who is Angela Aki's dad. I wasn't aware that GEOS founder Kusunoki is an old schoolmate of Aki's and they set up a business together before going their separate ways with GEOS & AEON.

[canman]

Mulboyne, from what I understand, they started off together and when their businesses were doing well they decided to split Japan in two. Geos would take Northern Japan, and Aeon the south, with Tokyo being fair game. It was only years after when Nova exploded on the scene that the gentleman's agreement was ended and the schools went head to head. When I arrived here in Hachinohe, there was no competition, until Nova showed up.
AK why did you think Geos was the worst. I can't agree with your opinion. They were expensive, but made no secret about it. I think it was bad if you were a manager, but at least when I was there, all teachers had at least university degrees, they tried to hire people with teacher training, we often had training courses, and talks given by reputable guest speakers. Nothing like Nova who would take any warm body with no training what so ever. I thinkthe big difference between Geos and Aeon, was that Geos made the decision to promote overseas schools, and I think Aeon went for kids. It seems Aeon made the right choice.

[Doctor Stop]

[Retarded] Students stunned by Geos bankruptcy
Apr. 23, 2010
Yomiuri Shibun

"I paid 300,000 yen-plus in February for annual tuition. I was concerned as Nova had collapsed a while ago, but I didn't expect Geos would also go belly-up," a company employee in his 20s said at the Jiyugaoka branch in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, referring to the major conversation school that went bankrupt in 2007.

[Bucky]

Back to school

G.communication Co., which has taken over 230 of the 329 schools run by bankrupt major language school operator Geos Corp., resumed classes at Geos schools on Friday.

Classes were reopened at 201 schools and will resume later at 29 other schools, while 99 schools were closed.

On Wednesday, Tokyo-based Geos, mired in debts of 7.5 billion yen, filed for bankruptcy proceedings with the Tokyo District Court, which ordered its assets protected from creditors.

Of Geos's total of about 36,800 students, 29,000 are registered at the Geos schools taken over by G.communication based in Nagoya.

Students at the Geos schools being closed can continue their studies at nearby Geos schools or at schools of Nova Corp., a language school taken over by G.communication in 2007, for tuition already paid.

Refunds will not be granted for classes that students have not yet taken, according to Geos.

[Behan]

Back to school

GCom is the company that bought up some of Nova's schools after its collapse.

[IkemenTommy]

Next up: Aeon

Add Berlitz in there too. I think people started to realize that these eikaiwa schools with the retarded Engrish staff simply do not work.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Add Berlitz in there too. I think people started to realize that these eikaiwa schools with the retarded Engrish staff simply do not work.

Eikaiwa are certainly garbage but even with the best teachers and material a person isn't going to learn much English going to one or two hours of class a week. That's really only worthwile for someone who's doing it as a hobby and only expects minimum results or someone who already speaks English well, gets little or no chance to use it, and just wants to maintain.

[IkemenTommy]

Eikaiwa are certainly garbage but even with the best teachers and material a person isn't going to learn much English going to one or two hours of class a week. That's really only worthwile for someone who's doing it as a hobby and only expects minimum results or someone who already speaks English well, gets little or no chance to use it, and just wants to maintain.

Some go the extra mile and beds with the loser eikaiwa senseis to get the one-on-one experience.

I tell every Japanese wanting to learn real English to get the fuck out of Japan and live in a real English speaking country like the US or UK. Avoid places like Singapore and Australia.

[Taka-Okami]

Next up, Aeon, then Berlitz, followed closely by GCom.

[dimwit]

Eikaiwa are certainly garbage but even with the best teachers and material a person isn't going to learn much English going to one or two hours of class a week.

This may be true for intermediate to high level students but it is not at all the case for beginners who can progress with that level of commitment. I seem to recall a few years back a paper related to the hours of study versus the improvement in TOEIC score and from what I sketchly recall to get from 300 to 400 a commitment of 1-2 hour/week but for every 100 points up beyond that it required an extra 50-100% greater commitment. Now, I don't pretend that TOEIC scores mean that much (especially when people take specific TOEIC prep classes), but I would say that in my own experience low levels often do improve with that level of study.

[Samurai_Jerk]

This may be true for intermediate to high level students but it is not at all the case for beginners who can progress with that level of commitment. I seem to recall a few years back a paper related to the hours of study versus the improvement in TOEIC score and from what I sketchly recall to get from 300 to 400 a commitment of 1-2 hour/week but for every 100 points up beyond that it required an extra 50-100% greater commitment. Now, I don't pretend that TOEIC scores mean that much (especially when people take specific TOEIC prep classes), but I would say that in my own experience low levels often do improve with that level of study.

I would argue that it's not the 1 or 2 hours of class a week that make the real difference but the many more hours of study the students probably spend outside of class. Besides, TOEIC prep and eikaiwa are two different things.

[Taro Toporific]

Eikaiwa on the ropes after fall of Geos
--School's bankruptcy another nail in coffin of the 'Nova model'--
By Richard Smart - The JAPAN TIMES - May 4, 2010
....The Geos bankruptcy on April 20 had much in common with the implosion of Nova in 2007. Then as now, foreign and Japanese staff working for an eikaiwa company face an uncertain future as G.communication gets to work restructuring a broken business.
It's a situation Ken Worsley of the Japan Economy News Web site sees as a sign of the times in Japan.
"Asymmetry in supply and demand (help explain the bankruptcy)," says Worsley. "The number of new students registering at conversation schools has declined in five of the past six years, and fell by 35.7 percent last year. At the same time, revenue at such schools has fallen by somewhere around 40 percent in the past four years."
Much more...