Wal-Mart's Japan unit Seiyu to close 30 stores

Could this move be related to the recent sales tax hike?

Note that the "underperforming" stores are not in the red. They just don't generate enough income to sufficiently further enrich the Walton family of billionaires. So all these people lose their jobs, and the mainly old people in districts these stores serve will have no place to shop.

The sooner Wal-mart gets out of Japan, the happier I can be. I might be in favor of business in general, but that corporation has all of the ethics of Voldemort.

So joining Tesco, Correfour, Boots, HSBC, Citi, Morgan Stanley, pret a manger and countless others who sought success in this dreadful country to do business. The wise ones like M&S must be laughing out loud and I do not blame them.

Never really saw much "Walmart-ness" about seiyu

Walmart knew it was going to be a tough road ahead when they first bought in to Seiyu back in 2002. They had been contemplating entry to Japan on their own back in 1997 but after investigating Japan's complex logistics network, they cancelled their unilateral expansion plans and bought up a stake in failing Seiyu. However Seiyu has been a failing brand for over 2.5 decades. Their stores were run down in the 80's 90's and 00's. Disillusioned> So this comes as no surprise that Walmart is finally axing some 30 stores as it was inevitable. Gokai> walmart is losing money in Japan overall and although you may be right that some stores are not in the red, walmart's shrewd business acumen will allow it to cut costs to a level more in line with their long term investment in Japan. David> walmart is in it for the long run. They aren't the worlds largest retailer for nothing. (Sad to say)

Disclosure, I hate walmart.

Sillygirl- Loads of Asda stuff which is mostly from UK. Look and you will find.

@Sherman Well,countless others have succeeded. McDonalds, Starbucks, KFC, Krispy Kreme, Costco etc.. If the foreign company doesn't provide a service or product better than a Japanese company can provide, how do you expect them to survive?

It appears that Walmart has not been as successful as anticipated trying to take on the Ito-Yokado stores, which has been around since 1920 (the company that ran Ito-Yokado is today's Seven and I Holdings, the corporate parent of 7-Eleven Japan). Given Ito-Yokado's long-standing knowledge of how to handle the highly-complex Japanese goods distribution system, they've figured out how to survive, while the Walmart-owned Seiyu hasn't been so successful, especially since Seiyu is not viewed as highly as Ito-Yokado.

Note that the "underperforming" stores are not in the red. They just don't generate enough income to sufficiently further enrich the Walton family of billionaires.

BS, if you knew a billionaire, you would know that if a business is earning even one cent in profit, they think it is profitable. Even with a one cent profit, a large business operation is an extremely valuable asset.

They are closing the stores because they know that these stores are earning less and less profit each year, and can do the third-grade math and figure out that they will soon be losing money, and when. It is not Walmart or Seiyu's fault, the problem is environmental. Best blame those who are responsible for making Japan a good place to do business.

Seiyu has very low marging at those 30 stores, so they are reallocating resources to higher margin stores. Never mind the people in the neighborhood. On thing US companies do not have is Americans on the ground who speak Japanese and know their way around (I'm not talking about the ones who some over from NY for a 2 years and return for a promotion). They just make a contract with a partner and expect them to do all the work and then return lots of money. Anyone can tell you that you get nothing without boots on the ground.

When Peeny and /Sears were only super market we used, Walmart spruted with low price plenty volume, Then neighborfhood market and added grocery. So many stgores that it began into middle class neighborhood. Now, organic milk, etc. We can get instant udon, too. Not just food but even books, magazines and electronic gadgets. It added pharmacies recently 0 with pharmacy chains together, In Japan, Seiyu is not doing wekk> ///////////////////////////////walmart do not donate to charity organuzatuibs, It doe bot trust such organization but it created own charities. Nut ot herted pop mpm shops in many small towns hey say. We don't care if Walton family members are multi billionaaires age sane way wei doblt care Bill Gate is top billionaire in USA, We just buy things cheaper and available in Walmart.

The less influence China musters through Walmart only improve things in the world.

Hope walmart leaves Japan, terrible corporation

@Raymond Chuang Seiyu was established in the fifities under the Seibu Railways group, so they also have a long history in the Japanese market.. Although mainly in the Kanto area. I personally prefer Seiyu to Ito Yokado, Prices are lower. Shopping environment is more pleasant, especially in the newly upgraded stores. AND they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!!

glad to hear it, the issue with western companies in Japan, is they never try to understand the Japanese customer or their lifestyle and thinking, they are more interested in cloning a western franchise in hopes that they will somehow conform them into how they want them to think and act.

I won't miss them, in fact I would rather see small businesses and Japan run companies flourish again, i remember growing up in the late 80s in Canada and see a Japanese Product and it was respected for being well made and filling a area in your life you needed, and it frustrates me when someone tries to take away from that, Its why I love Japanese Products and own a D810 and a sony tv etc, so I hope the trend continues, because Japan has always been a place for innovation, now lets hope they can regan that strength.

I hope the Seiyu in my neighborhood stays open. They have the best and cheapest produce.