The retail chain expanded rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s. Also, stronger sales from competitors such as
Ito-Yokado, ÆON, and other regional supermarket chains have hurt Daiei's sales record in recent years. As a part of the series of bootstrap restructuring efforts to avoid filing for IRCJ (
Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan) support, the company sold its baseball team, the
Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, which it purchased from
Nankai Railway in 1988 to
SoftBank, on January 27, 2005 and the company's
Hawaii stores in 2006 to
Don Quijote Co., Ltd. Through the process of
debt restructuring and support given by financial institutions in coordination with IRCJ, the company has been acquired by IRCJ, Marubeni Corporation (a trading company) and Advantage Partners (a private equity house) in 2005. Daiei's current president is Yasuo Nishitoge.
Private brand Daiei carries multiple
private label brands, and the biggest one they carry is Topvalu (トップバリュ) which started in 2007. Topvalu products are sold by
ÆON Co., Ltd. and Daiei. == Gallery ==