, or , is a Japanese group of supermarkets, shopping centers and department stores, headquartered in Akabane (赤羽),

Kita, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward located in Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is City of Kita. The ward was founded on March 15, 1947. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated ...

.Company Profile
" Seiyu. Retrieved on November 7, 2011. "Head Office 1-1, Akabane 2-chome, Kita-ku, Tokyo 115-0045, Japan"

History

The group was established in December 1946, and was formed in 1956 by Seibu Department Stores, a group company of

Seibu Railway is a conglomerate based in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan, with principal business areas in railways, tourism, and real estate. Seibu Railway's operations are concentrated in northwest Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture; the name "Seibu" is an abbrevia ...

. In 1980, Seiyu launched its private brand ''Mujirushi-Ryōhin'' (commonly known as MUJI outside Japan). MUJI was transferred to the Ryohin Keikaku Company in 1990, and is no longer part of Seiyu. On December 31, 2003, Seiyu and the US retail chain

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

signed a partnership agreement in which Walmart would teach global supply chain practices.

Numazu is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 189,486 in 91,986 households, and a population density of 1,014 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Numazu is at the nor ...

, Shizuoka was the site of the first Seiyu store using Walmart methods. Walmart bought a 37 percent stake in Seiyu in 2003, and according to a company press release, in late 2005, Walmart acquired a majority stake in the company, which it has since increased to 100% ownership in 2008. Previously, the company had a registered office in Higashi-

Ikebukuro is a commercial and entertainment district in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan. Toshima ward offices, Ikebukuro station, and several shops, restaurants, and enormous department stores are located within city limits. It is considered the second larges ...

Toshima, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and Nakano, Shinjuku, ...

. In 2019, Walmart named Lionel Desclée, formerly of Delhaize and the Belgian pet shop chain Tom&Co, president and CEO of both Seiyu and Walmart Japan. In remarks after his appointment, he said Walmart had no interest in selling Seiyu. However, that June, Walmart outlined plans to relist Seiyu on the stock market. Over the 2019-2020 period, Seiyu comparative-store sales grew 180 basis points faster than the market and EBITDA increased by nearly 40%. In addition, Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper, jointly operated by Seiyu and Rakuten, recorded a nearly 40% year-on-year increase in gross merchandise sales in the fourth quarter of 2020. In 2020, Walmart announced they would be selling 65% of their shares in the company to private-equity firm

KKR KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strateg ...

in a deal valuing 329 stores and 34,600 employees at $1.6 billion. Walmart is supposed to retain 15% and a seat on the board, while Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. will receive 20%.

Past Regional Expansion Plans

In addition to its Japanese operations, Seiyu also had department stores operating under its name in Singapore and Hong Kong. The group used to directly operate these stores, but in October 2005, its three Singapore stores were sold to

CapitaLand Limited CapitaLand is a Singaporean headquartered company focusing on investment, development and management of real estate. It is one of Asia's largest real estate companies and the owner and manager of a global portfolio comprising integrated develo ...

, which transferred them to Beijing

Hualian Group The Beijing Hualian Group (, using the trademark BHG) is a leading Chinese retailer founded in 1998, headquartered in Beijing. It is one of the fifteen large national retail enterprises supported by the Ministry of Commerce and the only Chinese r ...

later the same year. The group's Hong Kong store in New Town Plaza, Sha Tin was sold to

Sun Hung Kai Properties Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited (SHKP; ) is a listed corporation and the largest property developer in Hong Kong as of 2019. The company is controlled by the Kwok family trust, largely the Kwok brothers. The Kwok family trust was set up by Kw ...

Limited in June 2005, but like the stores in Singapore, continued to operate under the Seiyu name until April 2008. The Singapore stores were then renamed BHG, which stands for "Beijing Hualian Group".

Group companies

Seiyu Group refers to an association of companies, of which The Seiyu, Ltd. is the parent. The companies in Seiyu Group are: *The Seiyu, Ltd. *Hokkaido Seiyu Co., Ltd. *Tohoku Seiyu Co., Ltd. *S.S.V. Inc. *Kyushu Seiyu Co., Ltd. *Sunny Co., Ltd. *Wakana Co., Ltd. *Smile Corp. *The SCC, Ltd. *Nicoh Inc. *Nijicom Ltd. *Smis Co., Ltd. *Seiyu Service Co., Ltd.

References

Further information

* - About

's ownership of Seiyu Group

External links

* {{Rakuten Retail companies established in 1946 Retail companies based in Tokyo Department stores of Japan Walmart Supermarkets of Japan Conglomerate companies based in Tokyo Japanese companies established in 1946 2008 mergers and acquisitions Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies 2020 mergers and acquisitions Kohlberg Kravis Roberts companies Rakuten