York Holdings President Seiichiro Ishibashi, in an interview with Reuters, revealed that the company is considering rolling out a new line of small supermarkets in central Tokyo under its flagship Ito-Yokado chain, with sales floor space significantly reduced from the conventional format. The floor space would be 100 to 150 tsubo, far smaller than Ito-Yokado's standard of about 1,000 tsubo and roughly twice the size of a convenience store. The company aims to expand its low-priced private brand, Seven The Price, by broadening its product lineup and roughly tripling the brand's sales in fiscal 2028 compared with fiscal 2025. York Holdings is a holding company that brings together about 30 businesses including Ito-Yokado and York Benimaru. Its former parent, Seven & i Holdings, sold it to Bain Capital for about 810 billion yen last September, and Seven & i still holds roughly a 35% stake. The company set up an internal IPO preparation office in July this year, and President Ishibashi said he envisions a stock listing as early as fiscal 2028, setting a performance target for the listing of increasing consolidated sales by more than 10% compared with fiscal 2025. The company plans to invest about 120 billion yen over the three years from fiscal 2026 in new stores and renovations of existing stores, shifting to an aggressive stance after its structural reforms, which included mass closures of unprofitable stores, produced certain results.
Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd.
