OSAKA -- Ailing supermarket-chain operator Mycal Corp. will announce a revised restructuring plan by the end of the week aimed at slashing its debts, company officials said Monday.

The Osaka-based company has been forced to revise the three-year restructuring plan it announced earlier this year due to a failure to procure funds.

Under the revised plan, the company is likely to try to boost profits by focusing on about 100 of its profit-making Saty mass-retail shops and Vivre clothing stores.

It also envisions tieups with other companies to strengthen operations in these areas, the officials said.

Other measures will include closing down or changing the operations of 38 of the group's loss-making stores during the firm's current business year, which ends Feb. 28, and the transfer of headquarters staff to group stores.

The Mycal group's interest-bearing debts stood at 1.15 trillion yen as of the end of February.

Earlier this year, the company announced a three-year plan aimed at reducing its debts to 910 billion yen by the end of August and to 750 billion yen by the end of February 2004 through measures such as the securitization of its outlets, unloading of its shares in subsidiaries, and closure of about 50 of its loss-making stores.

However, with the sluggish performance of the stock market, the company was unable to effect its plan of securitizing its stores by the end of this month and gaining 120 billion yen from the securities sales.

This has forced the company to revise its plan to reduce its debts to 910 billion yen by the end of this month.