Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. (株式会社リクルートホールディングス, ''Kabushikigaisha Rikurūto Hōrudingusu'') is an HR Tech (

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...

technology) holding company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Recruit Group, currently consisting of three autonomous Strategic Business Units (SBUs) and Recruit Holdings, was founded in 1960 by Hiromasa Ezoe, then an educational psychology student at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

, as ''Daigaku Shimbun Koukokusha'' (大学新聞広告社, University Newspaper Advertisement Company). It was a spin-off from ''the Todai Shimbun'' (the University of Tokyo's main student newspaper). In FY 2024, it reported sales of 3.56 trillion Yen and revenue of 678.8 billion Yen, with more than half of its sales generated overseas. Its flagship world-wide services include the job search engine

Indeed Indeed, Inc. is an American worldwide employment website for job listings launched in November 2004. It is an independent subsidiary of multinational company Recruit Holdings. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and Stamford, Connecticut, w ...

and the employer review site

Glassdoor Glassdoor is an American website where current and former employees anonymously review companies, operated by the company of the same name. In 2018, the company was acquired by the Japanese company Recruit Holdings (owner of Indeed) for US$1. ...

. The company is listed on the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. The exchange is owned by Japan Exchange Group (JPX), a holding company that it also lists (), and operated by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc., a wholly owned sub ...

and is a component of the

Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It is a price-weighted index, operating in the Japanese yen, Japanese Yen (JP¥), and its compone ...

and TOPIX Core 30 indices. As of January 2025, the company has the 4th largest market capitalisation in the country of 17.5trillion Yen.

Overview

Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. offers a two-sided talent marketplace that drives meaningful connections between job seekers and employers. In Japan, it also focuses on streamlining business essentials from sourcing to marketing through its cloud-based smart solutions including matching platforms and SaaS. It holds business competitions within the company that all employees can participate in, fostering a corporate culture that encourages freely initiating new ventures. Popular terms such as "

freeter In Japan, a is a person aged 18 to 34 who is unemployed, underemployed, or otherwise lacks full-time paid employment. The term excludes housewives and students. Freeters do not start a career after high school or university, but instead e ...

(フリーター, freelancing part-timers)", " employment ice age (就職氷河期)", and "gaten-kei (ガテン系, meaning blue-collar jobs)" have originated from information magazines it has published. Following the Recruit scandal in 1988, which was regarded as one of the largest post-war scandals in Japan, the company faced a loss of credibility, adversity worsened further by the burst of the bubble economy. This led to the manifestation of bad assets issues with subsidiaries such as Recruit Cosmos (real estate) and First Finance (financial services). The entire group found itself in a difficult situation. In June 1992, its shares were transferred to the major supermarket chain

Daiei , based in Kobe, Hyōgo, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line. Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni ...

, placing it under the Daiei Group. However, due to deteriorating performance within the Daiei Group, Recruit Holdings separated around the year 2000.馬場マコト; 土屋洋『江副浩正』日経BP、2017年12月。ISBN 978-4822258689。 At the time when it joined the Daiei Group, Daiei adopted a stance of being a "silent shareholder" without assuming any debts. Consequently, under Kunio Takagi from Daiei, Recruit managed to settle approximately 1.4 trillion yen in interest-bearing debt from the bubble era's real estate and non-bank business failures by the fiscal year ending in March 1994 by itself. Currently, Recruit operates independently of any corporate group, maintaining neutrality while expanding its business operations.

Major Brands

HR Technology * Indeed: The #1 job site in the world with over 580 million job seeker profiles. Job seekers can search millions of jobs in more than 60 countries and 28 languages. * Glassdoor: A leader in workplace transparency. On Glassdoor, professionals can research ratings, reviews, salaries and more at millions of employers, and join communities to engage in candid workplace conversations. * Rikunabi: Online matching platform for new graduates * Rikunabi NEXT: Online matching platform for mid-career job seekers * RECRUIT AGENT: Employment placement service for professionals * RECRUIT DIRECT SCOUT: Talent sourcing service for professionals * TOWNWORK: Online matching platform and print media for part-time and full-time job seekers Staffing * RGF Staffing: a staffing group providing a diverse range of HR services in Australia, Europe, Japan and the USA. * Recruit Staffing: A temporary staffing solutions company focused on large companies in urban areas in Japan, offering support across all occupations and needs. * STAFF SERVICE: A Japan-based staffing service company, providing comprehensive temporary staffing and placement solutions for clerical, engineering, IT engineering, medical, manufacturing and light industry, and various other professional positions. * Unique: An agency providing a diverse range of HR services in Belgium. * Staffmark: An agency providing staffing services in the U.S., focused mainly on light industrial jobs. * CSI Companies: A staffing company placing highly qualified talent across a number of industries in the U.S. through its four divisions: CSI Financial, CSI Healthcare IT, CSI Professional, and CSI Tech. * Chandler Macleod: A staffing company providing a diverse range of HR and outsourcing services predominantly in Australia and across the APAC region. Marketing Matching Technologies * SUUMO: Online platform, print media, and in-person consultation service for housing and real estate * Hot Pepper Beauty: Online platform and print media for beauty treatment * Jalan: Online platform and print media for travel in Japan * Hot Pepper Gourmet: Online platform and print media for dining * Air BusinessTools: Cloud-based operational and management support solutions for business clients across an expanding variety of businesses

History

* 2010/7 – The company acquired US-based The CSI Companies * 2011/10 – The company acquired US-based Staffmark for US$295 million. * 2011/12 – The company acquired Advantage Resourcing Europe (currently RGF Staffing UK) * 2012/10 – The company acquired US-based

. * 2014/10 – The company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. * 2015/1 – Recruit Holdings acquired People Bank Australia * 2015/4 – Recruit Holdings acquired Chandler Macleod Group * 2015 – Recruit Holdings acquired Treatwell for €180 million. * 2015 – Recruit Holdings acquired Quandoo for US$219 million. * 2016/6 – Recruit Holdings acquired USG People (currently RGF Staffing) for €1.42 billion. * 2016 – Recruit Holdings acquired Simply Hired, a competitor of Indeed. * 2018/3 – Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. acquires the Canadian job search website Workopolis. * 2018/6 – Recruit Holdings acquired

for US$1.2 billion in cash. * 2020/7 – Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Relinquishes its stakeholding in Treatwell

References

External links

* {{Authority control Business services companies established in 1963 Japanese companies established in 1963 Book publishing companies in Tokyo Conglomerate companies established in 1963 Conglomerate companies of Japan Conglomerate companies based in Tokyo Entertainment companies established in 1963 Japanese brands Magazine publishing companies in Tokyo Mass media companies of Japan Multinational companies headquartered in Japan Multinational publishing companies Newspaper companies of Japan Service companies based in Tokyo Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange 2014 initial public offerings Internet technology companies of Japan Online retailers of Japan Online travel agencies