Walmart Remodels Stores In Japan No Plan To Quit Market

Walmart has no plans of leaving the Japanese market but is in fact renovating its stores in the region.

Walmart is focusing on renovating its stores in Japan instead of opening new ones and expanding. It looks like the retail chain is focusing on the quality and customer experience offered by its existing stores rather than opening numerous stores that do not meet the standards, as it already faces tough competition in the region from others in retailing business.

Walmart Stores in Japan might get a newer and better look after remodeling is completed. Since the company shows no signs to exit the Japanese market, it might just give the competitors a tough competition there. The retail chain might expand and open new stores in Japan in future but for now, its focus is to remodel the existing ones.

Walmart Stores Inc. is exiting many countries and markets including Latin America and even Brazil, as it reviews global assets. The giant grocery chain is operating Seiyu stores in Japan with its first investment in 2002. Later it took all control in 2008. It faces tough competition from the local retailers in the region including Seven & i Holdings Co. and Aeon Co., but that has not stopped the company from opening almost 354 stores in the region. It had 434 stores in 2014 but it had to take the difficult decision of shutting some of them down.

The commitment between Walmart Wholesale and Japan can be expected to last a long time according to the moves made by the retailer. Even though it shuts down 90 unprofitable stores in the past few years, the US retailer has also managed to attain a large customer base in the region in just a few years. Customers were not growing for a while because of the rising competition and even the economy of the area.

New stores with name of Walmart will be seen in Japan in the near future in profitable locations. The retailer had to announce the unfortunate decision of shutting down many of its store worldwide, most of which were underperforming stores. This was done to cut down costs as the company had made huge investment in other areas of its business, including adjustments in employees, as it announced many wage raises when the year begun. It shuts down 154 stores in the United States and many others.

Luckily that is not happening in Japan, in fact future stores will be built in the region indicating that the market is profitable for Walmart and that it has no plans of exiting it anytime soon.