Daimaru

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The Daimaru, Inc. 株式会社大丸
Type	Public KK (TYO: 8234)
Founded	April 16, 1920
Headquarters	Osaka, Japan
Key people	Tsutomu Okuda, Chairman and CEO
Industry	Retail
Products	Daimaru department stores Daimaru Peacock supermarkets
Revenue	¥590.2 billion (5.09 billion USD) (2005)
Employees	3,800 (2006)
Website	www.daimaru.co.jp

The Daimaru, Inc. (株式会社大丸, Kabushiki-gaisha Daimaru^?) is a company that operates a chain of department stores, principally in the Kansai region of Japan.

1 History
2 Locations
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Daimaru traces its history to Dai-Monjiya, a dry goods store in Kyoto founded by Shimomura Hikoemon Masahiro in 1717. The name "Daimaru" was first used for a store in Nagoya called Daimaruya, which opened in 1728.

The chain was incorporated in 1907 and reincorporated as Daimaru Dry Goods K.K. in 1920, changing its name to Daimaru in 1928. For several years in the 1960s, Daimaru was the largest retailer in Japan. In the late 1970s, Daimaru was the first Japanese department store opened in Thailand. Branches in Hong Kong closed in 1998^[1], and other branches in Singapore, Melbourne (in direct competition with Myer and David Jones Limited) and the Gold Coast of Australia closed in 2003 after nearly a decade of low profits.

In 1960, Daimaru established a subsidiary called Peacock Sangyo. Now known as Daimaru Peacock, it operates 37 supermarkets in the Greater Tokyo Area and 27 in the Kansai region.

In 1998, Daimaru entered into a partnership with the French grand couturier Dominique Sirop to produce Dominique Sirop for Daimaru, a high-fashion prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) label.

[edit] Locations

Daimaru on the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station

Daimaru Department Store, Kobe

Daimaru at Sapporo Station, Hokkaido

Shinsaibashi, Osaka - Shinsaibashi 1-7-1, Chūō-ku. The main Daimaru department store, founded as Matsuya in 1726. Daimaru's corporate headquarters are located nearby, at Minamisenba 4-4-10.
Umeda, Osaka - Umeda 3-1-1, Kita-ku, inside Osaka Station. Opened in 1983.
Kyoto - Shijo Avenue, Shimogyo-ku. Opened in 1912.
- Branch store in Kyoto Yamashina
Kobe - Akashicho 40, Chūō-ku. Opened in 1927.
- Branch stores in Kobe Nagata, Kobe Suma, and Ashiya
Tokyo - Marunouchi 1-9-1, Chiyoda-ku, inside Tokyo Station. Opened in 1954. The Tokyo store will be moved during the upcoming renovation of the station complex, and will reopen inside the North Tower of the Tokyo Station Twin Towers.
Sapporo - Kitagojonishi 4-7, Chūō-ku, inside Sapporo Station. Opened in 2003.
Stores operated by subsidiary companies in Fukuoka and Nagasaki (Hakata Daimaru K.K.), Shimonoseki, Tottori, Imabari, and Kochi.