Photo/Illutration Yasuhiro Teraoka, center, chairman of Sogo & Seibu Co.’s labor union, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Aug. 28. (Takaya Katada)

Employees at the Seibu Ikebukuro main store in Tokyo are threatening to stage a walkout on Aug. 31, which would be the first strike at a major department store in Japan in more than 60 years. 

Seven & i Holdings Co. is expected to decide on the sale of subsidiary Sogo & Seibu Co. to Fortress Investment Group, a U.S. investment fund, at a board meeting as early as Aug. 31.

A labor union of Sogo & Seibu said on Aug. 28 that it notified the company that about 900 employees will go on a full-day strike at the flagship department store in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward if Seven & i proceeds with the sale.

If the walkout proceeds as planned, it would be the first at a major department store since the one at Hanshin Department Store in 1962, according to UA Zensen, a trade union representing workers in various industries.

Sogo & Seibu said it will consider its response and options including closing the store altogether or partially on Aug. 31.

Seven & i has been under pressure from shareholders to sell money-losing Sogo & Seibu.

It inked a contract with Fortress Investment in November and originally planned to sell the subsidiary in February.

Seven & i replaced Sogo & Seibu President Takuji Hayashi, who was reluctant about the sale, on Aug. 1.

It has also installed six members on Sogo & Seibu’s board. Now, members appointed from Sogo & Seibu only account for six of the 13-member board.

“Seven & i has made prominent moves,” Yasuhiro Teraoka, chairman of the labor union, told a news conference in Tokyo on Aug. 28. “We cannot tell what will happen next or when.”

Senior members of labor unions at rival department stores, such as Takashimaya Co. and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd., attended the news conference in a show of support.

Fortress Investment plans to have Yodobashi Holdings Co., its partner, open a large camera and consumer electronics store inside the Seibu Ikebukuro main store.

Sogo & Seibu’s labor union has questioned the plan and has been negotiating with Seven & i.

The labor union, which organizes about 4,000 employees including part-timers, said Sogo & Seibu will be unable to continue business as a department store operator and it is unclear whether jobs will be protected under the sales plan.

“Whether employment will be retained will be high on the agenda in future negotiations with management,” Teraoka said. “The company finally began disclosing information this month. But what we got are far from satisfactory answers.”

He said the strike will be called off if it is confirmed that Seven & i’s board will not decide on the sale.

Toshima Ward officials and local businesses have also expressed concerns about the plan to open a Yodobashi Camera store in the Seibu Ikebukuro main store.

(This article was written by Takeshi Suezaki, Shinya Katada and Takehiko Sawaji, a senior staff writer.)

 

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