Wal-Mart Assigns Top U.S. Executive To Japanese Chain
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Wal-Mart Stores is putting a top American executive in charge of Seiyu to turn around the ailing Japanese retailer as it seeks to boost overseas growth.
Ed Kolodzieski, chief operating officer of Wal-Mart International, will become chief executive of Seiyu on December 15, placing him in charge of 404 money-losing supermarkets and department stores which have relied on discounts to move merchandise. Wal-Mart also said it is taking control of Seiyu and will raise its stake to almost 54% from 42.48%.
Japan is Wal-Mart’s second-largest international market by stores after Mexico. Seiyu has been struggling to win over Japanese consumers and compete with rivals including Aeon in the country’s 14 trillion yen supermarket business. Seiyu said on Tuesday that its net loss widened in the quarter ended September 30 and it forecast a larger loss for the year.
“The retail environment is very different from the U.S. because Japanese consumers are extremely picky and quality conscious,” said Yoji Takeda. “Creating a business model that works in Japan may be difficult.”
