Yaohan
Yaohan Co., Ltd. (株式会社ヤオハン, Kabushiki gaisha Yaohan) or Yaohan (ヤオハン, or 八百半); Chinese: 八佰伴) was a Japanese retail group, founded in 1930 by Ryohei Wada (和田 良平, Wada Ryōhei) and his wife Katsu Wada (和田 カツ, Wada Katsu). Initially a single shop, it was expanded by their son Kazuo Wada into a major supermarket chain with most retail outlets located in Shizuoka prefecture, south of Tokyo. It was incorporated in 1948 and listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange. The store was far more established and notable outside Japan, due to restrictive laws in Japan that made it difficult to set up new businesses, such that by the time it opened its first store in the Tokyo metropolitan area, the company was already in a state of decline due to accumulated debts from over-expansion.
Native name | 株式会社ヤオハン |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Yaohan |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1930 in Japan 1948 (incorporated) |
| Founder | Ryohei and Katsu Wada |
| Defunct | 1997 |
| Fate | Bankrupt Most assets acquired by ÆON Japanese stores became MaxValu; some overseas stores became JUSCO (now ÆON) |
| Successor | MaxValu (in Japan) |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Kazuo Wada |