en Daiei

The Daiei, Inc.
Native name	株式会社ダイエー
Romanized name	Kabushiki gaisha Daiē
Company type	Subsidiary (Kabushiki gaisha)
Traded as	TYO: 8263 (1972–2014); NAG: 8263 (1972–2008); SSE: 8263 (1974–2008); FSE: 8263 (1972–2008); Nasdaq: DAIEY (1974–2008);
Industry	Retail
Founded	1957 at Osaka, Japan
Founder	Isao Nakauchi
Headquarters	Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
Key people	Yoshiki Mori; (Chairman); Yasuhide Chikazawa; (President)
Products	Hypermarkets and supermarkets
Revenue	¥1,431.5 billion (2005)
Number of employees	full-time; 6979
Parent	ÆON Co.
Subsidiaries	OMC Card, OPA Co., Ltd.
Website	www.daiei.co.jp

The Daiei, Inc. (株式会社ダイエー, Kabushiki gaisha Daiē), based in Kobe, Hyōgo, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line.^{[citation needed]} Daiei is now under a restructuring process supported by Marubeni Corporation and ÆON Co., Ltd., another Japanese supermarket chain. Daiei Inc. runs more than 3,000 stores under the Daiei name as well as through its subsidiaries.^[1] In addition to groceries, Daiei is also a department store, selling electronics, home furnishings, and clothes. In terms of net sales, Daiei was formerly the largest retailer in Japan.

History

The retail chain expanded rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s. Also, stronger sales from competitors such as Ito-Yokado, ÆON, and other regional supermarket chains have hurt Daiei's sales record in recent years.^{[citation needed]}

As a part of the series of bootstrap restructuring efforts to avoid filing for IRCJ (Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan) support, the company sold its baseball team, the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, which it purchased from Nankai Railway in 1988 to SoftBank, on January 27, 2005^[2] and the company's Hawaii stores in 2006 to Don Quijote Co., Ltd.^[3] Through the process of debt restructuring and support given by financial institutions in coordination with IRCJ, the company has been acquired by IRCJ, Marubeni Corporation (a trading company) and Advantage Partners (a private equity house) in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Daiei's current president is Yasuo Nishitoge.^[4]

Private brand

Daiei carries multiple private label brands, and the biggest one they carry is Topvalu (トップバリュ) which started in 2007. Topvalu products are sold by ÆON Co., Ltd. and Daiei.