Walmart Inc. said it¡¯s committed to building its Japanese business, downplaying media reports that the retailing giant will sell its Seiyu chain.
¡°Walmart has not made a decision to sell Seiyu, we are not in any discussions with prospective buyers,¡± the company said in an emailed statement. ¡°We continue to build our Japan business towards the future to meet the changing needs of customers there.¡±
The Nikkei newspaper reported Thursday that Walmart plans to sell Seiyu to several logistics companies and investment funds for as much as ?500 billion ($4.4 billion).
The world¡¯s largest retailer has been reshaping its international operations. In recent months, Walmart has sold a majority stake in its Brazilian business, and agreed to cede control of its British chain Asda and spend $16 billion to acquire India¡¯s e-commerce leader Flipkart Group in its biggest-ever deal.
Judith McKenna, who took the helm of Walmart¡¯s $120 billion international business earlier this year, said she was ¡°happy¡± with Seiyu¡¯s performance during a news conference in late May. She added that the business was ¡°in the middle of a transformation¡± with a bigger focus on grocery sales and the alliance with Rakuten Inc.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.