Ito-Yokado will end operations at 17 stores in Hokkaido and other areas and withdraw from the region. The company plans to transfer the business of more than half of these stores.
The focus will now be on whether it can move forward with a speedy restructuring of its business, such as concentrating on the food business centered on the Tokyo metropolitan area. Ito-yokado's financial results for the year ending February last year continued to be in the red for three consecutive years.