A basic agreement was reached between the supermarket, a subsidiary of the major distribution company Aeon, and Fuji, which operates supermarkets in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions, to integrate their businesses.
According to the announcement, a basic agreement was reached between Aeon's subsidiary Maxvalu West Japan, which has its headquarters in Hiroshima City, and Fuji, which operates about 100 supermarkets and shopping centers in the Shikoku region of China.
In March next year, Maxvalu West Japan will be made a subsidiary of Fuji through a share exchange, etc., and in March 2024, a new company will be established by the merger of the two companies.
Aeon and Fuji entered into a capital and business alliance three years ago for the purpose of improving purchasing efficiency, and Aeon is now the largest shareholder with a 15% stake in Fuji.
However, as the market shrinks due to the declining population and the infection of the new coronavirus continues to spread, it is necessary to further strengthen relationships in order to respond to changes in consumers and create new business models.
At a press conference held on the 1st, Aeon Chairman Motoya Okada said, "We do not have a sufficient market share in Chugoku and Shikoku, and we would like to expand our market share through this integration with Fuji."
In addition, Fuji's Chairman Hideo Ozaki said, "We have achieved some results through our alliance with Aeon, but we would like to further refine our business through the integration."
The scale after the realization of the business integration
Aeon's subsidiary "Maxvalu West Japan" has 381 supermarkets in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions.
In addition, Fuji also operates 129 supermarkets and shopping centers in the Chugoku-Shikoku region, including the group.
If the management integration of the two companies is realized, the
number of stores
will be
more than 500, the number of
employees
will be
32,000,
and the combined sales of both companies will be close to 900 billion yen.
In the future, the two companies have a policy of proceeding with discussions toward strengthening online supermarkets and standardizing purchasing and delivery bases, and hope to further enhance their presence in this region through such efforts.