is a group of retail

Retail

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

 and financial services

Financial services

Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...

 companies based in Chiba

Chiba, Chiba

is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is located approximately 40 km east of the center of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. Chiba City became a government designated city in 1992. Its population as of 2008 is approximately 960,000....

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, which is centered on Æon Co., Ltd. It has sister companies in Mainland China

Mainland China

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, and Malaysia, and also trades under the JUSCO

JUSCO

is the acronym for Japan United Stores Company, a chain of "general merchandise stores" and the largest of its type in Japan. The various JUSCO companies are subsidiaries of ÆON Co., Ltd.....

 name. It claims to be Japan's largest retail group in terms of sales. (1) However, it is ranked as the second largest Japanese retailer by sales behind, Seven & I Holdings (Seven-Eleven) in the Fortune Global 500

Fortune Global 500

The Fortune Global 500 is a ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by Fortune magazine....

 rankings and 10th worldwide in the retail food and drug store category.

In 2011 it reported revenue of 1.2 trillion yen for the preceding year,http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303544604576429022748971588.html?mod=WSJASIA_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews but admitted it had sold radiation

Radiation

In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...

 contaminated beefhttp://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/Japanese_contaminated_beef_sold_in_and_around_Tokyo.html?cid=30706030 arising from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Fair trade

Aeon sells chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...

 bearing the Fair Trade

Fair trade

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...

 label under its Top Value brand.http://www.fairtrade-jp.org/products/retail/retail_cocoa/

See also

• Æon
• JUSCO
  JUSCO
  is the acronym for Japan United Stores Company, a chain of "general merchandise stores" and the largest of its type in Japan. The various JUSCO companies are subsidiaries of ÆON Co., Ltd.....
  
  
• Maxvalu Tokai
  Maxvalu Tokai
  is a Japanese retail store chain. Until 2000 it was named Yaohan, but changed its name after its bankruptcy and takeover from the ÆON Group....
  
  
• Ministop
  Ministop
  , a member of ÆON Group, operates the Ministop convenience store franchise chain in Japan. Unlike most other convenience stores in Japan, Ministop stores feature a kitchen that prepares sandwiches, snacks and take out bento boxes on demand, and has a seating area where customers can sit down and...
  
  
• Æon Credit Service
• Carrefour Japan
  Carrefour
  Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...
  
  
• Talbots
  Talbots
  Talbots is a specialty retailer and direct marketer of women’s classic clothing, shoes and accessories. Established in 1947, the company sells items such as the blazer, trench, white shirt, ballet flats and pearls....
  
  
• Self checkout
  Self checkout
  Self checkout machines provide a mechanism for customers to pay for purchases from a retailer without direct input to the process by the retailer's staff. They are an alternative to the traditional cashier-staffed checkout...
  
  

External links

Æon