August 11, 2009
AEON Co., Ltd.
Mitsubishi Corporation
AEON to Invest in Subsidiary Digital Direct Corporation
Promoting New Growth Strategy Based on the Comprehensive Business Alliance Agreement between Mitsubishi Corporation and AEON
Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and AEON Co., Ltd. (AEON) have announced today that they have concluded an agreement through which AEON will assume the private placement for a capital increase at Digital Direct Corporation (DD). DD is a subsidiary of MC that mainly provides mail-order shopping under the “saQwa” brand. Please see the details of the agreement below.
This capital subscription by AEON is part of the partners’ Comprehensive Business Alliance Agreement, which was concluded in December 2008.
Currently, AEON runs online shopping sites called “The AEON SHOP” and “The AEON Net Super”, the latter of which delivers items sold in actual stores, including fresh foods.
By acquiring DD as a consolidated subsidiary, AEON will be able to leverage the former’s strong track record in catalogue and TV shopping, in order to gain new and untapped sales channels. The acquisition will also allow AEON to build a new axis for growth and business development in non-store retailing, which is expected to grow as society continues to age. Furthermore, by combining sales channel logistics, call centers, and other factors, AEON will be able to reduce the overall costs of the business.
Through this collaboration with AEON, MC aims to further develop its direct marketing functions and expand DD’s business. Specifically, MC hopes to strengthen DD’s position in non-store retailing by combining different shopping media, including stores, the internet and catalogues, and by taking advantage of AEON’s ability to attract customers and established customer base, the largest in the country, comprising AEON card holders and patrons of AEON stores.
This alliance enables DD to execute unique direct marketing business that capitalizes on MC and AEON’s strengths. Both MC and AEON will assign officers to manage DD, and by combining MC’s know-how in product development and marketing with AEON’s know-how in internet marketing and store-based customer services and product sales, the partners plan to offer new services to patrons of AEON stores and AEON card holders. In this fashion, namely expanding customer contacts, the two companies hope to promote further growth at DD and achieve sales of 10 billion yen by fiscal year 2011.
Building on this initial collaboration under the Comprehensive Business Alliance Agreement, MC and AEON look forward to a long future together in many fields, promoting mutual prosperity and continuous growth.
1. Details
(1) Respective shareholdings after placement
AEON 55%, MC 45%
(Breakdown of the total AEON shareholding ratio:
AEON Co., Ltd. 35%, AEON CREDIT SERVICE Co., Ltd. 20%)
* DD becomes a consolidated subsidiary of AEON Co., Ltd.
(2) Allocation Scheme
Private placement with AEON Co., Ltd. and AEON CREDIT SERVICE Co., Ltd.
(The number of issued new shares: 3,324
The number of shares after the placement: 6,044)
(3) Schedule
Mid-August : Approval of the private placement at extraordinary meeting of shareholders
Late August: Execution of the investment by AEON
2. Overview of Digital Direct Corporation (as of August 11, 2009)
(1) Name of Company: Digital Direct Corporation
(2) Headquarters Address: 2-3-14 Nihonbashimuromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0022 Japan
(3) Establishment: December 16, 1999
(4) Description of Business: Direct marketing business such as TV shopping, internet and mobile commerce, catalog shopping, and wholesale business
(5) Number of Employees: 63
(6) President: Hideaki Shigemitsu
- Inquiry Recipient
-
AEON Co., Ltd.
Telephone:+81-43-212-6061 / Facsimile:+81-43-212-6804
AEON Co., Ltd.-
Mitsubishi Corporation
Telephone:+81-3-3210-2171 / Facsimile:+81-3-5252-7705
