AEON Co., Ltd. | Origins
Origins
The first self-service stores in Japan opened in the 1950s, and the sector grew rapidly despite the hostility of small shopkeepers. Early supermarkets operated on a local rather than a national scale, however, and were ill-equipped to withstand recessions. Many went out of business during the recession of 1964–65, and consequently the late 1960s was a period of consolidation among the survivors, many of which decided to form alliances or merge. It was against this background that JUSCO was formed in 1969 through the business tie-up of three companies—Okadaya, Futagi, and Shiro—in the Chubu and Kansai areas.
Okadaya Co., Ltd. had the longest pedigree of the three, having been founded in 1758. Until World War II, it was a store trading in clothing, including kimonos. After the war, it was restarted by Takuya Okada in a single building built on a devastated site and staffed by five employees. It grew into a chain of 14 department stores in...
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