Proxy war in Japan

摘要

Wal-Mart has become an incantation of horror for the Japanese retail industry. Confirmation in May that the U.S. giant was set to buy, in increments, two thirds of the 400-store Seiyu chain has prompted nearly half of Japan's supermarket chains to prepare financial defenses against takeovers. A survey of national retailers showed that 86% were either "alarmed" or "very alarmed." None has acted with greater urgency than Aeon, perhaps the best-run Japanese retailer. "Before Wal-Mart swallows us, we will attack them; it is a race between how quickly we can reform and how quickly Wal-Mart can learn about the Japanese market," Motoya Okada, its president, told a national business journal.