TOKYO -- Walmart's decision to sell 85% of Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu represents an acknowledgment that an American-style strategy focusing on low prices and efficiency failed to resonate with Japanese consumers.
Judith McKenna, CEO of Walmart International, told Nikkei that the sale to KKR and Japanese e-tailer Rakuten showed that Walmart was thinking flexibly about Seiyu's shareholder structure amid a trend in the global supermarket industry toward a community-based approach.
