Japan’s second-largest retail group Aeon Co has posted a first-half operating profit of ¥58.26bn (US$469.3m), an increase of 9.2% from a year earlier.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Despite the slump in Japan’s retail market, Aeon has remained strong due to cost reduction, aggressive expansion and sales of cheap own brand products.
Sales for the six-month period ending 20 August totalled ¥1.49trillion, a 3.9% increase from the previous year. Sales of Aeon’s own brand products accounted for 15% of H1 sales, compared to 11.8% last year.
Aeon posted first-half group net profits of ¥19.72bn, a significant increase from the first-half net loss that was recorded last year.
Forecasts for the full year ending 20 February so far remain unchanged at ¥132bn operating profit and ¥43bn net profit.
Aeon has said that by 2005 it will close 30 stores that are making a loss, reported Reuters News.
The company is hoping that its expansion and improvement of profit margins and efficiency will enable the chain to compete with US retail giant Wal-Mart, which is planning to enter the Japanese retail market with supermarket chain Seiyu.
