Mavvalu tokai co., Ltd.

Business Details

With AEON CO., LTD. as its parent company, the company operates the food supermarket chain "MaxValu" across seven prefectures: Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, Gifu, Shiga, Kanagawa, and Yamanashi. Delica Foods Co., Ltd. (Consolidated Subsidiary) manufactures and processes prepared foods, rice dishes, and other products for supply within the group (scheduled to be absorbed via merger effective September 1, 2026). The company has two segments—the Supermarket Business and Other Business (the Franchise Business of Mister Donut and Fujiya, etc.)—but discloses these as effectively a single segment because the Other Business lacks materiality as a reportable segment. The company operates a regionally rooted food retail business leveraging AEON Group infrastructure such as Topvalu products, iAEON, and AEON Pay.

Recent Overview

Q1 operating profit fell 11.8%, struggling mainly due to higher SG&A expenses and the drop-off of prior-year extraordinary gains

In the first quarter of FY2027 (ending February 2027) (March–May 2026), operating revenue was ¥95,274 million (down 0.4% year on year), operating profit was ¥2,403 million (down 11.8%), and quarterly net income was ¥1,632 million (down 18.8%). Gross profit increased by ¥250 million year on year (from ¥24,527 million to ¥24,777 million), but selling, general and administrative expenses increased by ¥587 million (from ¥23,762 million to ¥24,349 million), pressuring operating profit. In the same period of the prior year, extraordinary gains of ¥264 million (gain on sale of fixed assets, gain on lease cancellation, etc.) and extraordinary losses of ¥176 million (loss on business withdrawal, etc.) were recorded, but in the current period extraordinary gains were zero and extraordinary losses were only ¥1 million, a significant contraction. In addition, the same period of the prior year included operating revenue of ¥829 million from a Chinese subsidiary (AEON MaxValu Guangzhou, liquidation completed in November 2025), affecting the year-on-year comparison. The company opened 7 new stores and renovated 5 existing stores, securing all-store sales of 100.4% year on year. As a subsequent event, the Board of Directors resolved on June 18, 2026 to absorb wholly owned subsidiary Delica Foods Co., Ltd. via merger effective September 1, 2026. The full-year earnings forecast was not revised (operating revenue of ¥400,000 million, operating profit of ¥14,700 million).

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Strengthened store competitiveness and expanded dominance in Nagoya City through the opening of 7 new stores (including 5 Urban Compact Stores) and renovation of 5 existing stores in Q1 of FY2027 (ending Feb. 2027)
• Expanded customer touchpoints in the Non-Store Business through expanded mobile supermarket operations, new openings of the unmanned "Max Mart" stores, enhanced online supermarket promotion, and expanded Uber Eats delivery services
• Improved productivity and service levels through additional self-checkout registers, expansion of the weather-data-based automated ordering support system to the seafood department, and introduction of digital signage
• Increased customer spending per visit through expanded lineups in growth categories such as Topvalu (including products commemorating the 100th anniversary of AEON CO., LTD.'s incorporation), Jimono products, prepared foods, frozen foods, and in-store bakery
• Enhanced digital promotion and customer engagement through the use of iAEON, AEON Pay, and digital signage
• Strengthened collaboration with the fresh foods and prepared foods divisions and concentration/streamlining of management resources through the planned merger with Delica Foods Co., Ltd. (scheduled for September 1, 2026)

Risks

• Downward pressure on customer traffic and average spend per customer due to weakened consumer sentiment amid rising food prices (existing-store sales fell below the prior-year level at 99.4%)
• Risk of margin deterioration due to rising costs such as labor, delivery, and electricity expenses (Q1 operating margin declined to 2.5% from 2.8% in the same period of the prior year)
• Intensifying competition that transcends industry and business format boundaries (continued uncertainty stemming from factors such as the situation in the Middle East)
• Risk of rising raw material and resource prices due to changes in the international situation, including U.S. tariff increases
• Risk of fluctuation in net income due to the drop-off of one-time gains and losses recorded in the same period of the prior year, such as extraordinary gains of ¥264 million (gain on sale of fixed assets, gain on lease cancellation, etc.) and loss on business withdrawal
• The full-year net income forecast of ¥9,300 million is planned to fall below the prior-year actual of ¥10,249 million, reducing the margin of safety in earnings relative to maintaining the annual dividend of ¥85