Conventional Japanese supermarket chains, which are suffering dwindling sales and being cold-shouldered by consumers, will be dealt another blow with the advance of foreign retail giants wielding aggressive business plans into the Japanese market.
On Friday, French-owned Carrefour -- the world's second-largest retailer -- will open its first Japan hypermarket. The site, in the Makuhari business district of Chiba Prefecture, is adjacent to several middle-class commuter towns.
U.S.-based Costco Wholesale, a warehouse club chain that serves its customers through a paid-membership system, will follow this move quickly by launching a new outlet on Dec. 13 in the same district.