is the

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in '' NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, a ...

for Japan United Stores Company, a chain of "general merchandise stores" (or

hypermarket A hypermarket (sometimes called a hyperstore, supercentre or superstore) is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including ...

) and the largest of its type in Japan. The various JUSCO companies are subsidiaries of the

ÆON , commonly written AEON Co., Ltd., is a Japanese multinational holding company of ÆON Group. It has its headquarters in Mihama-ku, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture.kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimon ...

silk trader in 1758. Renamed ÆON in 1989, it operates stores throughout Japan under JUSCO and other names and also has a presence in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, mainland China and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. As of March 1, 2011, all JUSCO and SATY stores under the Aeon umbrella in Japan changed their names to AEON while all the JUSCO stores and shopping centres in Malaysia have been fully re-branded into AEON since March 2012. The Hong Kong and Mainland China subsidiaries officially changed their name to AEON on 1 March 2013.

History

In the 1970s, JUSCO was constituted by Mie Prefecture, Kyoto and Hyogo in Japan and was named Japan United Stores COmpany. (Shortened form JUSCO). After that, it experienced rapid development. Currently there are about 300 stores in Japan itself and still counting. The group was renamed ''AEON'' in 1990, but its retail stores were still using the old name ''JUSCO''. In late 2010, AEON announced that all existing JUSCO stores in Japan would gradually be renamed AEON. The re-branding exercise began in March 2011 and was complete by the end of that year.

International ventures

Malaysia

In 1985, the first JUSCO store outside Japan was opened in Plaza Dayabumi,

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, as a jointly-owned company with Cold Storage and three local companies, known as Jaya JUSCO. It was the first time that a Japanese company had entered into a significant joint venture in the Malaysian retail industry. JUSCO assumed total operational control of the chain in 1988. Currently. there are 62 AEON (formerly known as JUSCO) Retails stores and shopping centres are in operation in Malaysia. The oldest (though not the first) JUSCO store in Malaysia is JUSCO Taman Maluri in

Cheras, Kuala Lumpur Cheras (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Tsiâu-lai) is a suburban and a district, straddling both the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Hulu Langat District in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. The township is located to the south-east of downtown ...

. It opened on 30 October 1989. JUSCOMaluri01327

The AEON Bukit Tinggi Shopping Centre in

Bandar Bukit Tinggi Bandar Bukit Tinggi is an integrated and modern township in Klang, Selangor, Malaysia. The RM5 billion (over US$1.6 billion) self-sufficient mature township has a wide range of facilities and amenities. With a total freehold land area of , ...

, Klang,

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

, Malaysia is the largest JUSCO in Malaysia and Southeast Asia with over of built-up area and 5,000 car park bays. JUSCO in Malaysia is notable for being among the first general merchandise chains to introduce biodegradable polybags made from

sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato ('' Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the bindweed or morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young ...

es. In March 2012, all the JUSCO stores and shopping centres in Malaysia were re-branded to AEON, following the decision of AEON in Japan. In April 2018, AEON expanded to East Malaysia by opening their first mall in

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River at the southwest tip of the state of Sara ...

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong JUSCO subsidiary was established in November 1987 as JUSCO Department Store Co. Ltd. The first JUSCO store opened in

Kornhill Kornhill and Kornhill Gardens are apartment buildings on the northern slope of Mount Parker, in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Kornhill is a private housing estate and Kornhill Gardens is a Private Sector Participation Scheme e ...

in December 1987 (another name for this store was Quarry Bay Main and Flagship store). It was listed in Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited on 4 February 1994 with the stock code 984. Hong Kong JUSCO has now been renamed as AEON Stores (Hong Kong), and mainly manages shopping malls and other retail shops such as supermarkets, discount shops, home places, convenience stores and department stores. They offer low-cost and convenient daily necessities to customers including food, clothes, household items and electrical appliances. As of March 2013, there are eight AEON General Merchandise Stores (GMS) in Hong Kong, seven branches of AEON Supermarkets, 22 branches of Living Plaza by AEON, 4 branches of BENTO EXPRESS by AEON, 2 Aeon Style stores and only one branch of AEON MaxValu Prime, which is located at The One,

Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Ts ...

Taiwan

Taiwan JUSCO are subsidiaries of Taiwan AEON Stores Co., Ltd. The first JUSCO was in Windance in Hsinchu City. It was operated in 2003. The second JUSCO was operated in December 2005 at New Taipei city global mall.

China

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater Chin ...

, JUSCO uses AEON and JUSCO for its name. From 1996, AEON Co., Ltd created many shopping mall named JUSCO. In Shanghai, there was a JUSCO before, but it divested finance finally because of poor management. In Guangdong, Guangdong JUSCO Co., Ltd used the name "JUSCO" to operate the first JUSCO at 1996. Now, there are thirteen shops in Guangdong. Otherwise, AEON also operated large shopping mall in Beijing and Shunde. It also planned to expand to North China. In Shenzhen, Aeon () has a number of large stores including one at Coastal city (

Houhai station Houhai station (), formerly Nanshan Shopping Center station (), is a station of Shenzhen Metro The Shenzhen Metro () is the rapid transit system for the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, China. Extensions opened on 28 November 2022 ...

Other countries

The largest JUSCO (also the largest single-building shopping center in Japan) opened in 2005 in Mito. All but two JUSCOs, Srinakarin Rd and Sukhumvit Soi 71, have been closed down in Bangkok, Thailand. ÆON Co., Ltd. is re-expanding there under the MaxValu name instead.

References

External links

ÆON Co., Ltd

ÆON China Co., Ltd

ÆON Stores (Hong Kong) Co.

AEON Retail Malaysia Facebook Page

Guandong Jusco Tianmao, China

ÆON Jusco, Qingdao, China
{{Supermarkets of Hong Kong Aeon Group Retail companies established in 1970 Retail companies disestablished in 2013 Multinational companies headquartered in Japan Supermarkets of Japan Supermarkets of Taiwan Department stores of Hong Kong Supermarkets of Hong Kong Supermarkets of China Supermarkets of Malaysia Department stores of Malaysia Department stores of Thailand 1970 establishments in Japan