Entering Taiwan’s Food Retailing Business

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and Chief Executive Officer: Masayuki Hyodo) and Mercuries & Associates Holding, Ltd. (Head Office: Taipei, Taiwan; Representative: Chen Shiang-Li; hereinafter, “Mercuries & Associates”) have agreed that Sumitomo Corporation and Simple Mart Retail Co., LTD, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercuries & Associates that operates the food retailer Simple Mart in Taiwan, will partner up to start joint operation of food retailing business in Taiwan. Sumitomo Corporation will acquire a stake in Simple Mart Retail Co., LTD from Mercuries & Associates and convert it into an equity-method affiliate.

Among business sectors that consists Taiwan’s food retailing market, estimated to be about 3.7 trillion yen, Supermarket sectors including Simple Mart have enjoyed particularly notable growth during this period – their market scale in 2016 was about 1.5 times that in 2011 – and further growth is expected in future. Simple Mart, whose mainstay products include beverages, processed foods, and daily necessities, has set up operations in very convenient locations, such as heavily residential areas and the vicinity of markets, and it is expanding its business by addressing neighborhood residents’ needs for living necessities. It currently runs 627 stores (as of April 30, 2018) principally in northern Taiwan, giving it the second largest number of stores in Taiwan and a membership base of about 1.7 million.

Sumitomo Corporation will be contributing to Simple Mart’s business expansion by making use of the knowledge and know-how it has garnered in its retail businesses in Japan, among them the Tomod’s drugstore chain and the Summit supermarket chain. By having Simple Mart handle more Japanese-made products and using data analysis to create customer-oriented sales points, Sumitomo Corporation will be addressing user needs in a more tailored fashion.

Mercuries & Associates is engaged in a multitude of businesses, primarily the chain store of shoe, furniture, fast food and other retail business, import/export wholesaling of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as media, IT, life insurance and pharmaceuticals. Among the new approaches that Simple Mart has undertaken is the launching of EC services while leveraging their strength in logistics and procurement of products.

Sumitomo Corporation and Mercuries & Associates have since 2012 jointly run Tomod’s drugstore chain in Taiwan, which currently operates 38 stores (as of April 30, 2018). The upcoming acquisition of shares is aimed at expanding Simple Mart’s business to meet the needs of Taiwan’s consumers and helping them lead comfortable and convenient lifestyles even more by leveraging the strengths and partnership of the two companies.

 

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■ Company profile of Mercuries & Associates Holding, Ltd
Name of company	:	Mercuries & Associates Holding, Ltd
Address	:	No. 145, Section 2, Jianguo North Road, Taipei City, Taiwan (Head Office)
Capital	:	Approximately 27.9 billion yen (1 NTD = 3.65 JPY / 7.65 billion NTD)
Employees	:	29,239 (Mercuries & Associates Group consolidated basis: as of 31st December, 2017)
Established	:	February 1965

  

 

■ Sumitomo Corporation’s Material Issues

Sumitomo Corporation Group positions “Six Material Issues to Achieve Sustainable Growth with Society” as an important factor in developing business strategies and in the decision-making process for individual businesses. Going forward, we will pursue sustainable growth by resolving these issues through our business activities. This project especially contributes to “Establishing a Foundation for Comfortable and Enriching Lifestyles”.

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