Ito Yokado
 | |
 Ito-Yokado headquarters in Nibancho, Chiyoda, Tokyo | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1920 |
Area served | Japan, China |
| Owner | Seven & I Holdings |
| Website | www |
Ito-Yokado Co., Ltd. (株式会社イトーヨーカ堂, Kabushiki-gaisha Itō Yōkadō) is a Japanese general merchandise,[1] shopping center, grocery store and department store,[2] originally founded in 1920. In 2005, it was reorganized, as part of a corporate restructuring, as a subsidiary of the Seven & I Holdings Co.
As of February 2023, there were 126 Ito-Yokado stores operating in Japan.[3] In 2023 the company announced that it would be closing down 33 stores.[4][5] Ito-Yokado entered the Chinese market in 1996, opening the first store in Chengdu, Sichuan province.[6] As of 2023, the company has 12 stores in China, with 1 in Beijing, 11 in Sichuan.
Musical codes
Inside Ito-Yokado, the staff working at the register can play instrumentals of famous musical pieces, which is a code to workers in the store for specific things to do.[7] These are:
- Help! (The Beatles)[8][9] - A call for additional staff to man the tills during periods of high customer traffic.
- Daydream Believer (The Monkees) - Played during ordinary operation.
- Rhythm of the Rain (The Cascades) - To inform customers of heavy rain outside the building.
- Carmen (Georges Bizet) - Robbery and other criminal activities in the premises.
- Symphony No. 5, 1st. Movement (Allegro con brio) (Beethoven) - Bomb threat.
References
- ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0786299D:JP
- ^ https://www.itoyokado.co.jp/special/global/en/
- ^ Katsumura, Mariko (9 March 2023). "Seven & I to close more Ito-Yokado stores, exit apparel business". Inside Retail Asia. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15409377
- ^ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2024/12/06/companies/ito-yokado-headcount-reduce/
- ^ https://www.7andi.com/en/sustainability/research/12china/01.html
- ^ https://www.iromegane.com/post/supermarket-theme-songs-in-japan
- ^ 【高音質】イトーヨーカドー レジ応援BGM「help!」フルver, 17 March 2015, retrieved 18 May 2022
- ^ https://soranews24.com/2021/01/09/heres-why-japanese-supermarkets-play-cheap-background-music-all-day-according-to-twitter/
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
| Subsidiaries |   | |
|---|---|---|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
