Seven & i to list supermarket unit Ito-Yokado, Kyodo reports

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Seven & i Holdings plans to list its supermarket unit Ito-Yokado, Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified sources.

The retail conglomerate aims to focus on its mainstay 7-Eleven convenience store operation by having the supermarket business listed, Kyodo said.

Seven & i will likely announce its plan to list Ito-Yokado, a major general merchandise store chain, on Wednesday, when it is set to announce its financial results, Kyodo said.

Asked about the Kyodo report, a company spokesperson said nothing had been decided at this point.

Business daily Nikkei reported later on Tuesday that Seven & i was looking to set up a new intermediate holding company for general merchandising chains including Ito-Yokado as early as in 2026.

Seven & i is considering courting external investors for the new company, or potentially taking it public, to turn its superstore business profitable by the fiscal year ending February 2026, Nikkei said.

Ito-Yokado, which is struggling to compete with specialty outlets and discount stores, announced in February that it would withdraw from Japan's major northern island of Hokkaido and some other regions.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka, Chang-Ran Kim, Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Mark Potter)