Korea’s top dollar store chain Daiso buys out Japanese shareholder

South Korea’s AsungHMP Co. has bought a 34.2% stake in Asungdaiso Corp., which operates the country’s top dollar store chain Daiso, from its Japanese shareholder at 500 billion won ($379 million) to fully control the discount store business.  

Asung HMP said on Monday that it has acquired the entire stake that Japan’s Daiso Industries Co. held in the Korean dollar store chain, to strengthen the homegrown retailer's businesses.

Asung HMP’s ownership in Asungdaiso has risen from 50% to 84.2% through the deal. Asung HMP Chairman Park Jeong-bu’s two daughters together own the remaining 15.8% stake.

Park founded household goods retailer Asung Corp. in 1992 and launched its first store in Seoul in 1997. Daiso Industries, the operator of Japan’s leading dollar store chain Daiso, invested 400 million yen ($2.7 million) for 34.2% ownership and became the second-largest shareholder of Asung in 2001.

The Japanese capital injection was made under conditions that Daiso Industries would be Asung’s exclusive client in Japan and Asung would change its name to Asungdaiso.

The Japanese shareholder hadn’t been engaged in Asungdaiso’s management for years, but it has recently required its participation in the Korean retailer’s business and dividend payment expansion.

The dollar store chain in Korea, selling daily necessities, cosmetics and home decor goods, is a top budget shopping destination for locals and foreign visitors.

Asungdaiso’s revenue jumped to 2.9 trillion won in 2022 from 637 billion won in 2012, and its operating profit skyrocketed to 239.3 billion won from 1.1 billion won during the same period.

As the store chain is named after the Japanese company, whenever anti-Japanese sentiment has reignited in Korea and led to local consumer boycotts of Japanese firms, Daiso has emphasized that its largest shareholder is a Korean firm.  

Write to Young Chan Song at 0full@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.