Black Friday Sale! 50% Off All Access

How Kumon Rode the Choppy Waves of Childhood Learning to a Top Franchise Ranking The nationwide academic-enrichment center weathered shifts to remote education and surpassed 2,000 American locations, landing at #6 on our Franchise 500 ranking.

By Margot Boyer-Dry

Entrepreneur+ Black Friday Sale

Our biggest sale — Get unlimited access to Entrepreneur.com at an unbeatable price. Use code SAVE50 at checkout.*

Claim Offer

*Offer only available to new subscribers

This story appears in the January 2022 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Courtesy of Kumon North America

Started franchising: 1958 Total units: 26,365 Cost to open: $64.5K-$139.9K

Until the pandemic, Kumon had never offered virtual classes. Then, of course, it had to scramble to make changes — training instructors on how to use Zoom and trying to retain students who were overwhelmed by screen time. As a result, some locations lost 20%-30% of their enrollment.

These days, Kumon has gone back to basics, building off an academic enrichment program that's remained largely the same for 60 years. Its focus over the past year has been on returning to in-person learning, a focus shared by parents nationwide. That's been a logistical battle for a national company saddled with local area mandates in every state, but now that 99% of its ­centers are physically open again, the students are ­pouring in.

Related: The 5 Best Teaching and Mentorship Franchises You Can Buy

"You would think that because of what happened, it would have hit us a little harder, but people are seeing the importance of learning," says Thomas Kuczek, franchise recruitment manager at Kumon.

As a result, Kumon is growing as steadily as its students' brains. In 2021, it exceeded 2,000 locations in North America and has more than 26,000 worldwide, which helped it hold the same No. 6 spot it had on the 2021 Franchise 500, when it first broke into the Top 10.

Although many people initially think of Kumon as a tutoring center, students often stay long after they finish whatever they initially came in to work on, honing their focus, organization, and study skills. That continuity has always made for a stable base of students and an enthusiastic community of parents who recommend Kumon to others, or even become franchisees themselves: "About 85% of people that come to us know about us somehow," says Kuczek.

Related: Which Franchise Keeps Kids (and Parents!) Sane?

Parents, aunts, and uncles of students often go on to open locations after seeing the benefit of the program in their children.

Kumon has now passed its 2,000-unit North American milestone, and there's miles of blue sky ahead. Company analysis has ­identified over 2,000 expansion locations available in North America. Kuczek says it will reach that goal the same way it reached this one: by staying true to its core.

"Kumon is what it is: It's a worksheet-based educational system. There's no way of reinventing that," says Kuczek. And maybe there's no need.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Science & Technology

I've Spent 20 Years Studying Focus. Here's How I Use AI to Multiply My Time and Save 21 Weeks of Work a Year

AI is supposed to save time, but 77% of employees say it often costs more time due to all the editing it requires. Instead of helping, it can become a distraction. But don't worry — there's a better way.

Business News

The Two Richest People in the World Are Fighting on Social Media Again

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk had a new, contentious exchange on X.

Money & Finance

Why Donald Trump's Business-First Policies Trump Harris' Consumer-Centric Approach

President Donald Trump's pro-business agenda is packed with policy moves encouraging investment to drive economic growth. The next Congress has a unique opportunity to support entrepreneurship and innovation, improving U.S. competitiveness with the rest of the world.

Starting a Business

Why Are So Many Course Creators Struggling if It's 'Such an Easy Business'? Here's the Truth Behind the $800 Billion Industry

Creating an online course is so easy — at least, that's what many "gurus" would like you to believe. There's a lot of potential in the $800 billion industry, but here's why so many course creators are struggling.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Barbara Corcoran Says This Is the Interest Rate Magic Number That Will Make the Market 'Go Ballistic'

Corcoran said she praying for lower interest rates and people are "tired of waiting."