Seibu Department Stores Ltd. plans to close its outlets in the cities of Toyama and Shizuoka by the end of 2006, it was learned Wednesday.
The department store chain, currently under the wing of Millennium Retailing Inc., has made the decision due to falling sales at the two stores, according to sources.
Seibu's Toyama branch opened in 1976 and employs about 180 people, including part-timers. Its store in Shizuoka opened in 1970 and has roughly 250 employees.
Toyama Seibu officials have already begun talks with various parties in the region on such matters as finding new jobs for displaced employees with a view to closing the outlet at the end of May, the sources said. Similar talks are also expected to be launched by Shizuoka Seibu soon, they added.
Toyama Seibu logged annual sales of nearly 18 billion yen in the early 1990s, while Shizuoka Seibu's yearly sales had topped 30 billion yen.
Ito-Yokado cuts back
Major supermarket chain Ito-Yokado Co. said Wednesday it will close five outlets within the next two years due to poor profitability.
Its Sengendai store in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, its stores in Kamagaya and Kimitsu in Chiba Prefecture, and its outlet in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, will close by the end of February, while its outlet in front of JR Hamamatsu Station in Shizuoka Prefecture will be shut down by the end of 2007 at the latest, company officials said.
Ito-Yokado set up Seven & I Holdings Co. in September together with convenience store chain Seven-Eleven Japan Co. and Denny's Japan Co. Because Ito-Yokado's performance is sluggish compared with that of Seven-Eleven, the supermarket chain plans to close some 30 stores by the end of February 2009.
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