Seven & i to Postpone Sogo & Seibu Sale to March

Jiji Press

16:45 JST, January 25, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japanese retail giant Seven & i Holdings Co. said Tuesday that it will postpone the sale of department store unit Sogo & Seibu Co. from Feb. 1 to March.

The move comes amid a stalemate in talks between Seven & i and U.S. fund Fortress Investment Group LLC, which is set to buy Sogo & Seibu, over the proposed opening of an outlet of major electronics retailer Yodobashi Camera in the Seibu Ikebukuro store in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward, informed sources said.

Fortress is in a partnership with Yodobashi Holdings, the parent of Yodobashi Camera.

Toshima Mayor Yukio Takano has voiced opposition to the planned launch of a Yodobashi Camera outlet in the Sogo store in the Ikebukuro district, saying that the area would lose what makes it a community of culture.

Seven & i said in a statement Tuesday that “negotiations toward satisfying the prescribed conditions are still ongoing.”

The retail giant decided last November to sell the department store unit for over ¥200 billion to Fortress. At a press conference in December, Takano expressed opposition to Yodobashi Camera opening an outlet on the lower floors of the Seibu Ikebukuro store.