MaxValu Tokai

MaxValu Tokai Co., Ltd. is a Japanese supermarket operating company within the AEON Group. It is headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, and operates stores in the four Tokai prefectures (Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu, and Mie), as well as Kanagawa, Yamanashi, and Shiga prefectures. The company is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market. Its predecessor was Yaohan Japan, which went bankrupt in 1997 and was subsequently supported by Jusco (now AEON). After becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Jusco in 2000 and changing its name to MaxValu Tokai in 2002, the company gradually converted its Yaohan-branded stores to the MaxValu banner, completing the unification in 2011. It has also absorbed other supermarket businesses, including Joyful Tokai, Season Select, and Aeon Kimisawa, and has expanded its store formats to include MaxValu Express, MaxValu Prime, and The Big. The company also operates in China through a joint venture in Guangzhou. Its core business is food supermarkets under the MaxValu brand, and it continues to operate as a key regional supermarket chain in the AEON Group.

MaxValu Tokai traces its origins to Yaohan Japan, a supermarket chain that filed for bankruptcy protection in September 1997. Jusco Co., Ltd. (now AEON Co., Ltd.) began supporting the company, and in March 2000 it changed its name to Yaohan Co., Ltd. and joined the AEON Group. In July 2000 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jusco. The company's reorganization proceedings concluded in February 2002, and on March 1, 2002, it changed its name to MaxValu Tokai Co., Ltd. and moved its registered head office from Numazu to Nagaizumi in Shizuoka Prefecture. In August 2002, it opened its first MaxValu store, MaxValu Susono Chabatake. In July 2004, it relisted on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, seven years after being delisted. In 2006, it established Joyful Tokai as a wholly owned subsidiary and acquired supermarket operations from Tokai Mart. In 2007, it acquired a bakery business and began in-store bakery operations. In 2008, it acquired Season Select from ECOS and converted its Matsubishi Mart and Season Select stores to the MaxValu and MaxValu EX brands. In 2009, it took over several MaxValu stores from AEON Retail in Shizuoka and Toyohashi. In 2011, it unified all remaining Yaohan stores under the MaxValu brand, and also converted MaxValu EX stores to MaxValu Express or The Big. In 2013, it absorbed AEON Kimisawa and inherited the Kimisawa, The Combo, and Kimisawa Gratte brands, and launched the new MaxValu Prime format. In 2014, it acquired three stores from Gourmet City Kanto (now Daiei) and converted some to MaxValu Express and The Big. In 2019, it transferred all The Big stores to AEON Big and merged with MaxValu Chubu, inheriting the MaxValu Grand and Mrs. Smart brands. The company continues to operate supermarkets primarily under the MaxValu banner.

• 2019

  Transferred The Big stores to AEON Big; merged with MaxValu Chubu.

• 2013

  Absorbed AEON Kimisawa; launched MaxValu Prime format.

• 2011

  Unified all Yaohan stores under MaxValu brand.

• 2008

  Acquired Season Select and converted stores to MaxValu and MaxValu EX.

• 2006

  Established Joyful Tokai as a wholly owned subsidiary.

• 2004

  Relisted on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

• 2002

  Company renamed MaxValu Tokai Co., Ltd.; first MaxValu store opens.

• 2000

  Company renamed Yaohan Co., Ltd. and becomes wholly owned subsidiary of Jusco.

• 1997

  Yaohan Japan files for bankruptcy protection; Jusco begins support.

Regional supermarket chain under the AEON Group, focused on food retail in the Tokai region and surrounding areas.

• MaxValu

  Standard supermarket format.

• MaxValu Express

  Smaller convenience-oriented supermarket format.

• MaxValu Prime

  Premium supermarket format focusing on quality and affordability.

• The Big

  Discount supermarket format (operations transferred to AEON Big in 2019).

1. 1MaxValu Tokai - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2マックスバリュ東海 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org