AEON CO. (M) BHD (AEON) is a leading General Merchandise Stores (GMS) cum Supermarket chain in Malaysia, with 28 AEON MALLs, 34 AEON Outlets, 5 MaxValu Prime Supermarkets across the country. It was listed on Bursa Malaysia in December 1996 as Jaya Jusco Stores Berhad (Jaya Jusco). Jaya Jusco set up its first retail store in Malaysia in June 1985 at Dayabumi Complex Kuala Lumpur. For financial year ended 31 December 2019 AEON reported revenue of RM4.5 billion and profit before tax of RM196.9 million.  

Its sister company, Aeon Credit Service (M) Berhad (Aeon Credit)  is also listed on Bursa Malaysia (12 December 2007). AEON Credit commenced operations in 1997 by providing Easy Payment schemes for purchase of consumer durables through appointed retail merchants and chain stores. Today, the business of the Company has expanded to include issuance of Credit Cards, Easy Payment and hire purchase financing for motor vehicles, Personal Financing schemes, insurance sales business and other services. AEON Credit is a subsidiary of AEON Financial Service Co., Ltd., Japan (AFSJ), which is listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. AFSJ is mainly involved in the issuance of credit cards, and is one of the biggest credit card issuers and a leading consumer credit provider in Japan.  

Okada family 

AEON is part of Japan’s, Aeon Co., Ltd, a global retail and financial services Group which encompasses 300 companies and business entities in 12 business segments including retail, financial services, shopping center development, and services. The Group employs more than 360,000 people and operates in Southeast Asia, China and India besides Japan.  

The Aeon Group’s principal founder is Honorary Chairman of the Aeon group, Takuya Okada. His eldest son, Motoya Okada, 68, is the current Chairman and CEO of Aeon Co.,Ltd and was until March 2020, also the President. On 1 March 2020 Akio Yoshida, 59, the Executive Vice President of Aeon Co., Ltd was promoted to President, the first time in 23 years that a non-family member was appointed as President of the group. Motoya Okada said that he will now focus mainly on the Group’s strategy. It was during the tenure of Motoya Okada (President since 1997) that the Aeon Group had begun its aggressive overseas expansion that led Aeon Co., Ltd to become the biggest retailer by revenue in Japan. The Okadas are an illustrious family in Japan. Motoya’s younger brother, Harvard educated Katsuya Okada was more interested in politics and rose to become the Leader of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in 2004. He was also Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2009 and in 2012 appointed Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. 

The Okada family traces its lineage back to 1758 when the first Sozaemon Okada establishes Shinoharaya in Yokkaichi and begins trading in kimono fabrics and accessories. In June 1946 Takuya Okada was named President of Okadaya Kimono Fabric Store. In 1968 there was a merger between Okadaya and the Futagi Clothing store (Kazuichi Futagi founder) and a year later, Shiro Co., Ltd (Jiro Inoue founder) joined the merger and Jusco was established.  

AEON Big 

On 1 November 2012 Japan’s Aeon Co., Ltd acquired French owned Carrefour Malaysia’s 26 hypermarket format stores for RM990 million and renamed them as Aeon Big Malaysia. The Carrefour Group which was the largest retailer in Europe said that it was “refocusing its core activities and allocating its resources to mature countries.” The acquisition move was part of Aeon Co’s ASEAN expansion strategy. Carrefour entered the Malaysian market in 1994.  

With the hypermarket scene in Malaysia facing headwinds, Aeon Co., Ltd has embarked on a management restructuring of its operations in Malaysia. It has cut costs via shared management services between AEON and AEON Big. AEON Big pays AEON for shared services.  

 
Read more 

1. AEON Group. Company History. https://www.aeon.info/en/company/history/ 
2. The Star Online. 1 November 2012. Carrefour selling Malaysian ops to Aeon for RM990m (Update). https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2012/11/01/carrefour-selling-malaysian-ops-to-aeon-for-rm990m-update/ 
3. UPI. 2012. Okada made deputy PM in Cabinet change. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/01/13/Okada-made-deputy-PM-in-Cabinet-change/23461326435867/ 
4. The Wall Street Journal. 1 September 2010. Norihiko Shirouzu. Okada’s family connection. https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-JRTB-4322 
5. Katsuya Okada. http://japan.kantei.go.jp/hatoyama/meibo/daijin/okada_e.html 
6. Market Screener. 10 January 2020. Aeon : Retailer Aeon appoints 1st new president in 23 years. Kyodo News International Inc. https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/AEON-CO-LTD-6492031/news/Aeon-Retailer-Aeon-appoints-1st-new-president-in-23-years-29817985/ 
7. Bloomberg. Motoya Okada. Chairman of Aeon Co., Ltd. https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/1431655 
8. AEON Co (M) Berhad. About Aeon. Corporate Profile. http://aeonretail.com.my/corporate/news/press2020/press_id200312.php 
9. The Edge Malaysia. 23 June 2020. Vasantha Ganesan. AEON Co and AEON BiG management to be placed under one roof. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/aeon-co-and-aeon-big-management-be-placed-under-one-roof 
10. Aeon Co., Ltd. Press Release. 1 November 2012. Announcement regarding Execution of share purchase agreement and simultaneous completion of share purchase to acquire Carrefour’s Malaysian operations. https://www.aeon.info/export/sites/default/common/images/en/pressroom/imgsrc/121101R_1.pdf 
11. Aeon Big. About us. https://aeonbig.com.my/about/ 
12. Aeon Co. (M) Bhd. Corporate profile. History. www.aeonretail.com.my 
13. AEON Credit Service (M) Berhad. Corporate Milestones. www.aeoncredit.com.my