According to the latest report by Nikkie Business Daily, US-based Walmart Inc. has announced to sell its Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu and that the retailer is already in talks with major retailers and private equity funds.
It is pertinent to mention here that, Walmart acquired majority stake in leading Japanese supermarket chains back in 2008. The Japanese business daily did not name their sources but reported that if the sale takes place, it can touch 300 billion to 500 billion Yen. The exit (if it happens) will come amidst the retailing giant’s ongoing expansion in other big Asian countries such as; India and China.
Notably, the American retail giant revealed last month that it had sold 80 per cent stake in its operations in Brazil to a private equity firm, Advent International; exiting its third major global deal since April, citing under-performing business as the reason behind such a big move.
Reportedly, Walmart failed to replicate the success of its low-price model with the leading Japan-based retailer, even after the introduction of its every-day low price initiative and continuous discounts.
The report also highlighted the fact that, Japan has been a tough country for most of the big overseas retail players like Tesco and Carrefour that exited the country in 2011 and 2005 respectively.
The Japanese retail market is dominated by e-retailers such as; Amazon and a recent industry consolidation saw the creation of FamilyMart Uny Holdings. This deal focussed on expansion of the FamilyMart convenience stores in the country which have progressively turned out to be a priority for sellers as a growth driver.
