Outline of Group Business

JS GROUP PROFILE 2011-12

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JS Group Corporation started life as INAX Tostem Holding Company,a pure holding company established in 2001 through the management integration of Tostem Corporation (founded in 1923) and INAX Corporation (founded in 1924).The corporation has been expanding its group of companies righet from the beginning and adopted its current name in 2004.
The Group introduced a new group brand,LIXIL,which comes from the combination of the words "living" and "life" - referring to JS Group - in Japanese. In April 2011,five major companies under the Group were merged to launch a new company,LIXIL Corporation.
Led by LIXIL Corporation,the largest operation company within the Group,the new Group companies work together to uphold LIXIL's management philosophy and contribute to improving people's comfort and lifestyles.

Metal Building Material Business

The inclusion of Japan’s fourth-largest aluminum sash company, Shin Nikkei, within the LIXIL Group in April 2010 resulted in a combined market share of approximately 50%* for Tostem and Shin Nikkei in the aluminum sashes and doors used in home construction. The Group also commands high market share in curtain walls and sashes for commercial buildings and retail stores. In the exterior market, exterior products such as balconies, terraces, gates and fences are sold under Tostem, Shin Nikkei and TOEX brands of LIXIL Corporation from April 2011.LIXIL Suzuki Shutter meets wideranging customer needs for products including fi re-prevention and smoke-prevention shutters for commercial buildings and lightweight shutters for retail stores and garages.

* From a 2008 Nikkei Shimbun market share study on aluminum sashes and doors used in construction of wooden houses

Plumbing Fixtures Business

In April 2010, Sun Wave Corporation, a leading specialist kitchen manufacturer, joined the domestic operations of the LIXIL Group. As a result, the Group became the market share leader not only for bathrooms and washstand cabinet units, but also for kitchens. With regard to sanitary fixtures, INAX, ranking second in this category, is introducing a number of eco-friendly products that economize on water and products with a variety of functions. In overseas operations, American Standard Asia Pacific has joined the Group. The LIXIL group further strengthens its plumbing fixtures business with its comprehensive power from April 2011.

Other Building Materials and Equipment Business

The Group handles a variety of building products, ranging from wooden interior furnishing materials, such as doors, floors and closets, to floor and wall tiles for residential and commercial buildings, and disaster prevention and fire protection equipment such as fire alarms for residential buildings.
Nittan ranks third in market share in the disaster prevention equipment industry, and INAX is far and away Japan’s leading brand of tile. Asahi Tostem Exterior Building Materials ranks third in market share for both ceramic and metal residential exterior wall materials. Furthermore, the Group established LIXIL Energy to market solar power generation systems.

Distribution and Retail Business

Tostem Viva Corporation operates Viva Home home centers and Super Viva Home large-scale home centers nationwide, supporting comfortable living by offering an extensive selection of products and lifestyle proposals. Super Viva Home stores appeal to a wide variety of customers by offering not only daily necessities, DIY products, gardening products and pet supplies, but also extensive lines of building materials, agricultural products and other materials for professionals.
Tostem Viva and Tostem has launched Ken Depot and Ken Depot Pro, which are new formats of full-line building materials centers for professionals.

Housing, Real Estate and Other Business

LIXIL Housing Research Institute serves as a franchise headquarters that provides high-quality housing by offering comprehensive support to local builders, including product development, construction method development, materials procurement and advertising and promotion. In its capacity as a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism-designated housing defect warranty liability insurance company, JIO offers peace of mind to homeowners through new-construction and renovation housing defect insurance, housing performance evaluations and other services. Group companies engage in a variety of other housing-related businesses, including the conduct of ground investigations, real estate franchise operation and assisted-living condominium operation.