Sogo & Seibu closed its flagship Ikebukuro department store in Tokyo on Thursday after its labor union launched a rare strike to express discontent over the planned sale of the department store unit by parent firm Seven & I Holdings.
Although the labor union made a bold move to prevent Seven & I from proceeding with the buyout deal, the firm held a board meeting on Thursday where it made the final decision to sell the Sogo & Seibu department store unit, which has been struggling to make a profit, to Fortress Investment Group, a U.S. investment fund. The over ¥200 billion sale deal will close on Friday.
“(The decision) is still premature. It’s unfortunate,” said Yasuhiro Teraoka, who heads the labor union.