Aeon opens mega-mall in Beijing+

BEIJING, Nov. 7 Kyodo - Supermarket operator Aeon Co. on Friday opened a large-scale shopping center in suburban Beijing with an eye to expanding its business in emerging China.

Aeon Beijing International Mall Shopping Center, located in the Changping
District of the Chinese capital, has a floor space of about 90,000 square
meters and houses 104 shops including the company's Jusco supermarket.
The Japanese firm plans to open 10 shops in northern China's Huabei region that
includes Tianjin in the near future. It aims to increase the number of shops
across the country from 25 at present to around 100 and to more than double
annual sales from 150 billion yen to around 350 billion yen by fiscal 2010.
The opening of the shopping mall is the latest effort by the company to
gradually shift its focus to the Chinese market from Japan, where the aging of
the population has blunted sales.
Aeon President Motoya Okada has said that the company is planning to boost
investment in China rather than in the domestic market.
Aeon is expected to introduce clothing and food products sold in Japan under
its Topvalue private brand into the Chinese market as the low-priced, quality
products are manufactured in China and exported to Japan.
==Kyodo