In another effort to shore up its Japanese operations, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has offered about 875 million U.S. dollars to acquire the remaining stake in its Japanese subsidiary, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The bid represents a doubling down in the Japanese market by Wal-Mart Chief Executive H. Lee Scott Jr.. Owning all of Seiyu would give Wal-Mart greater flexibility in a range of activities, including merchandising, distribution and logistics, the report quoted the company as saying.
The deal comes five years after Wal-Mart began building its stake in Seiyu, a Japanese retailer that seemed to fit in with the Bentonville, Ark., company's strategy. Since then, Wal-Mart has spent 1.05 billion dollars to amass a stake of about 51 percent, as well as tens of millions of dollars refurbishing Seiyu's general-merchandise, clothing and food stores. Seiyu has about 400outlets.
Wal-Mart's decision to buy all of Seiyu underscores the allures and challenges foreign retailers face when doing business in Japan, as Japanese consumers have become cost-conscious during a 15-year period of slow economic growth, they remain among the most finicky shoppers in the world, the report added.
Source:Xinhua
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