Seiyu Group

History

The group was established in December 1946, and was formed in 1956 by Seibu Department Stores, a group company of Seibu Railway. In 1980, Seiyu launched its private brand Mujirushi-Ryōhin (commonly known as MUJI outside Japan). MUJI was transferred to the Ryohin Keikaku Company in 1990, and is no longer part of Seiyu. Also in 1980, Seiyu launched the "All-Value-No-Frills" brand, an innovation in product-line development. Over 1,450 high quality items in the brand are sold at a moderate price.

In 1991, Seiyu formed a consortium with six Asian retailers and one Hawaiian company to exchange expertise and set up joint ventures across Asia.

In 1996, Seiyu expanded to Thailand with local realtor Bang Chang, with its first outlet opened on September 26. It targets to have 20 stores by 2000.

On December 31, 2003, Seiyu and the US retail chain Walmart signed a partnership agreement in which Walmart would teach global supply chain practices. Numazu, Shizuoka was the site of the first Seiyu store using Walmart methods.

Walmart bought a 37 percent stake in Seiyu in 2003, and according to a company press release, in late 2005, Walmart acquired a majority stake in the company, buying out the remainder in 2008.

Previously, the company had a registered office in Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo.

In 2019, Walmart named Lionel Desclée, formerly of Delhaize and the Belgian pet shop chain Tom & Co, president and CEO of both Seiyu and Walmart Japan. In remarks after his appointment, he said Walmart had no interest in selling Seiyu. However, that June, Walmart outlined plans to relist Seiyu on the stock market.

Over the 2019-2020 period, Seiyu comparative-store sales grew 180 basis points faster than the market and EBITDA increased by nearly 40%. In addition, Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper, jointly operated by Seiyu and Rakuten, recorded a nearly 40% year-on-year increase in gross merchandise sales in the fourth quarter of 2020.