Tsuruha Holdings (HD) and Welcia Holdings (HD) completed a business integration on December 1, giving rise to Japan’s largest drugstore chain, with sales of 2.3 trillion yen and more than 5,600 stores. Going forward, leveraging scale merits including those of the AEON Group, the companies will work on joint development of private-brand (PB) products and strengthening the food category, as well as integrating NB product transaction arrangements, consolidating customer databases, and integrating core systems.
At a press conference held in Tokyo the same day, AEON President Akio Yoshida, Tsuruha HD President Jun Tsuruha, and Welcia HD President Hideaki Kirisawa attended. They presented a growth strategy that defines the period through the fiscal year ending February 2029 as “Phase 1,” and the period through the fiscal year ending February 2032 as “Phase 2,” aiming to raise sales to 3 trillion yen in the final year. The post-integration medium-term management plan will be announced in April 2026.
In Phase 1, they will integrate trading conditions and transaction arrangements for NB products and refresh and jointly develop PB products. They also intend to strengthen the food category, including by shifting to store formats centered on “Drug & Food.”
They will integrate purchasing data said to cover roughly 100 million people and build a shared customer database for both companies; additionally, by integrating core systems, they will centralize data such as ordering/receiving, sales, and inventory. Over the three years of Phase 1, they aim to generate total group synergies of 50 billion yen (including the AEON Group).
President Tsuruha said, “The new Tsuruha HD aims to become a ‘Life Store’ that stays close to the lives themselves of customers in Japan and overseas. In Phase 1, we will maximize group synergies and build a foundation including the nursing-care domain and overseas business, and in Phase 2 we will bring it into full-scale operation.”
As a symbol of the integration, they will create a new PB brand, “Karada to Kurashi ni, +1.” PB products previously developed by the two companies will be discontinued and unified, with sales to begin next spring. For food PB products, they also plan to roll out the AEON Group’s “Topvalu.”
President Kirisawa, who oversees group products after the integration, said: “As before, while following the approach of developing products with added value unique to drugstores—such as ‘health’ and ‘greater convenience’—with the new PB we want to provide customers with even more ‘plus-one’ added value than ever.”
AEON’s President Yoshida emphasized: “The growth of the new Tsuruha HD will be a major change in the AEON Group’s business portfolio. In aiming for a new drugstore model—a ‘Life Store’—I want them to actively utilize anything already available within the AEON Group, such as the supply chain, products, and human resources. Speed will be important.”
