The Daimaru, Inc.
株式会社大丸
TypePublic KK
IndustryRetail
FoundedKyoto, Japan (April 16, 1920 (1920-04-16))
DefunctFebruary 28, 2010 (2010-02-28)
FateMerged with Matsuzakaya
SuccessorDaimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Co., Ltd.
HeadquartersChūō-ku, Osaka, Japan
ProductsDaimaru department stores
Daimaru Peacock supermarkets
Revenue467.0 billion yen (2009)
Number of employees
3,292 (2007)
ParentJ. Front Retailing
Websitedaimaru.co.jp/english/index.html

Daimaru (大丸) is a Japanese department store chain, principally located in the Kansai region of Japan. The chain is operated by Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores, a subsidiary of J. Front Retailing. At one time Daimaru was an independent company, The Daimaru, Inc. (株式会社大丸), headquartered in Chūō-ku, Osaka.[1]

It has been a member of the International Association of Department Stores from 1962 to 1982. As of 2016, Daimaru had seven stores in Japan, and employed about 3,000 people.[2]

History

Daimaru is the landmark of Shinsaibashi, Osaka as a modern architecture built on 1922
Kobe Daimaru at night
Kobe Daimaru Interior

Daimaru traces its history to Dai-Monjiya, a dry goods store in Kyoto founded by Shimomura Hikoemon Masahiro in 1717.[2][3] 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 1960, Daimaru established a subsidiary called Peacock Sangyo. Now known as Daimaru Peacock, it operates 49 supermarkets in the Greater Tokyo Area, 28 in the Kansai region and 8 in the Chūbu region.

International Expansion and closures

Daimaru expanded to Malaysia 1942 opening in Penang and later Singapore establishing a presence in November 1983 when Liang Court was opened. Diamaru would later close and reopen in 2003.[4]

Its opened in Hong Kong in 1960 lasting until its exit from Hong Kong in 1998,[5]

In the late 1964, it was the first Japanese department store to open in Thailand, under the name Thai Daimaru.[6]

It opened its first store outside of Asia in Australia at Melbourne, Australia in 1991 operating across six levels of the Melbourne Central (in direct competition with Myer and David Jones Limited). A second Australian store announced in 1996 opened on the Gold Coast in 1998.[7] Diamaru announced its departure from the Australian market after nearly a decade of low profits in September 2001[8] commencing closure of both stores in late 2002.[9][10]

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.

Locations (Japan)

Daimaru at Sapporo Station, Hokkaido
Hiroshige

References

  1. ↑ "会社概要." Daimaru. January 27, 1998. Retrieved on December 15, 2010. "本社ビル所在地 大阪市中央区南船場4丁目4番10号"
  2. 1 2 Stuart D.B. Picken (19 December 2016). Historical Dictionary of Japanese Business. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 110–. ISBN 978-1-4422-5589-0.
  3. ↑ Japanese Yearbook on Business History. Japan Business History Institute. 1996. p. 114.
  4. ↑ Australian Business Intelligence (July 2, 2002). "Daimaru of Japan says it will close all stores overseas". HighBeam Research. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2013. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  5. ↑ Lui, Tai-Lok. Gordon, Mathews. [2001] (2001) Consuming Hong Kong. HK University Press. ISBN 962-209-546-1.
  6. ↑ The gods of Ratchaprasong from The Bangkok Post 30 September, 2021
  7. ↑ [https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/business/flashback-inside-the-gold-coasts-1998-opening-of-the-40m-daimaru-department-store/news-story/e604d31ea7397266d8fd1bad0a94af4d Daimaru plans $40m Gold Coast store Sonia Syvret 23 December, 1996
  8. ↑ Daimaru to close Australian stores from The Japan Times 26 September 2001
  9. ↑ Kate Tozer (21 June 2002). "Melbourne's Daimaru closes down". The World Today. Australian Broadcasting Commission. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  10. ↑ Lyall Johnson (June 20, 2002). "Daimaru to go out with a bargain or two". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
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