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A PROFILE OF JAPAN'S RETAIL INDUSTRY
PREPARED BY ASIA PULSE ANALYSTS (JANUARY 2004)
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OVERVIEW:
In the first half of fiscal 2003 ended August 31, major supermarket operators saw sales weaken mainly in summer clothes largely because of the cool summer. Ito-Yokado Co., Aeon Co. and Uny Co. all posted a decrease in consolidated pretax profit, and Seiyu Ltd. fell into a pretax loss of about 2.3 billion yen (US$21.4 million). Meanwhile, Daiei Inc., which is undergoing sweeping restructuring, posted an increase in pretax profit, but its non-consolidated pretax profit failed to achieve the goal.
Under such circumstances, major supermarket operators are rushing to turn around their earnings, by reducing costs and strengthening sales activities. As part of efforts, they are sharply increasing the number of part-timers, with Ito-Yokado and Seiyu mulling raising the ratio of such workers to them payrolls to over 80 per cent. Daiei plans to open more food supermarkets.
Source: HighBeam Research, PROFILE - JAPAN'S RETAIL INDUSTRY (JAN 2004).