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The story
Aeon-affiliated USMH (United Supermarket Holdings) has announced it will close roughly 100 stores by fiscal 2030, mainly among its Maruetsu, Kasumi, and Inageya chains. President Takemi Ide explained that “inflation has been tougher than expected, which is how we arrived at this number of closures,” revealing a reality in which rising procurement costs driven by inflation are squeezing the business. On 5ch, the reaction focused less on shock at the closures themselves and more on debates over which is more convenient, My Basket or Big-A, the price gap with local supermarkets like Taiyo, and personal takes on whether life was easier in the deflation era or the inflation era.
United Supermarket Holdings (USMH), an Aeon-affiliated operator of food supermarkets, revealed on the 9th that it will close approximately 100 stores by fiscal 2030. It runs chains including Maruetsu, Kasumi, and Inageya in the greater Tokyo area, and the closures are part of a broader structural reform.
President Takemi Ide said at a press conference, “Inflation (rising prices) has been tougher than expected, which is how we arrived at [this number of] closures.” Inflation appears to be pushing up procurement costs and squeezing profits.
[Asahi Shimbun]
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
with prices soaring across the board, are small regional sash (window/door frame) manufacturers out in the sticks going to lose work? Go under?
Isn't it "U.S.M.H"? Or is that just Asahi's style?
What are Japanese people even eating these days?
Eating Kasumi (also means "mist" — i.e., living on thin air).
And on that note… (classic rakugo sign-off line)
that got absorbed into Aeon.
Among Osaka-born supermarkets, Daiei, Mycal (Nichii),
Daimaru Peacock, and Koyo all ended up bought out by Aeon.
Originally, Jusco (later renamed Aeon) was jointly founded by
Okadaya of Mie Prefecture, Futagi of Hyogo Prefecture, and Shiro of Osaka Prefecture,
and Jusco's head office at founding was located at Shiro's Noda store in Fukushima Ward, Osaka City.
Already happened.
My Basket's fresh food is way too low quality.
It's fine if you're just buying packaged goods though.
There's one near me but it smells kind of off somehow.
The deli food and fruit are pretty cheap, but everything else isn't really anything special.
For the people in the residential area who relied on it, now all that's left within walking distance is convenience stores.
In Tokyo residential areas, online supermarket delivery services target wealthy households and deliver right to your door, don't they?
Per-item prices are high, but if you own a house, the store covers delivery and with a drop box installed you don't even need redelivery.
Nah, surely not… or were we?
Economists hate deflation because it kills growth, but it's not all bad.
Say what you will, Japan's GDP growth stagnated, but we still held onto 2nd place in the world for ages.
Then the moment Abenomics kicked in with yen-weakening policy, we went into steady decline —
to the point of being overtaken by South Korea and Taiwan in per-capita GDP.
Just look at the results.
However you slice it, life was easier to live during the deflation years.
Just look at convenience store bento prices, it's obvious.
Prices go up but wages don't — that's just how Japanese society works, it was always obvious.
And yet they ran a weak-yen policy that assumed wages would rise along with it.
But back then the Japanese economy was an absolute wreck.
That's only because it's converted into dollars.
In real terms, things are far worse now.
Even the "nightmare" DPJ years (the Democratic Party's 2009-2012 government, long derided by the LDP) were way easier to live through than this.
At this rate, small and mid-sized food makers are going to start dropping like flies too.
Not "the day before yesterday" — the year before last.
I depend on it for drinks and canned tomatoes.
Big-A's open 24 hours, after all.
Big-A >>>>>>> My Basket.
At Taiyo, customers fill their baskets to the brim.
Taiyo's always packed with people.
It's cheap, that's why.
There are like 3 My Baskets near me too,
but there's nothing worth buying there.
Now it's no different from any other supermarket, and that "gotta buy it at Aeon" feeling is gone.
Having a real identity really does matter.
Out in the countryside, local chains are cheaper anyway.
"Aeon is expensive" is just the standard impression.
Are the buildings run-down too?
The Maruetsu near me has no customers.
It's a Maruetsu and it's still expensive lol.
It's cramped too.
New supermarkets keep moving in, so it'll probably end up on the closure list.
Background and key points of this discussion
USMH (United Supermarket Holdings) was formed in 2015 when Aeon-affiliated chains Maruetsu, Kasumi, and Inageya merged into a single food-supermarket group with deep roots in the greater Tokyo area — one that has faced constant price competition from discount formats such as My Basket, Big-A, OK, and Gyomu Super. This latest round of roughly 100 store closures is being framed as a structural reform meant to offset rising procurement costs by shrinking the store network. On the thread, interest centered less on the reasons behind the closures and more on comparing My Basket versus Big-A, the price gap with local chains like Taiyo, and whether life felt easier during the deflation years or the current inflation years, with opinions split over how to judge the weak-yen policy. It’s worth noting, though, that these are personal impressions rather than claims backed by concrete business data, such as changes in average spend per customer or number of items purchased.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (News Express+) thread “Aeon-affiliated food supermarkets to close 100 stores — inflation headwinds “worse than expected”.”
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