Japan’s Seven & i review to continue under investor pressure

Seven & i’s independent directors said on Thursday the Japanese retail giant’s board would continue to review strategic alternatives as it faces pressure for broader reforms from some shareholders, including activist ValueAct Capital.

ValueAct, which owns a 4.4 percent stake in Seven & i and has been pushing for change since 2020, calls for a spin-off of its 7-Eleven convenience store chain and seeks to replace four of the 14 board members at an upcoming annual meeting.

A source has said Seven & i president Ryuichi Isaka is one of the board members ValueAct wants to replace.

“The board is currently discussing the shareholder proposals and new board composition, and we plan to announce our decisions in mid-April,” Isaka told reporters and analysts on Thursday.

Last month, Seven & i announced the results of a strategic review and said it would close an additional 14 Ito-Yokado supermarket stores in Japan and fully exit its apparel business. Some investors, though, said the review did not go far enough.

The company said on Thursday it would reshuffle its financial services.

Seven & i said in a separate statement that its operating profit rose 30.7 percent to a record 506.5 billion yen ($3.85 billion) in the financial year to end February. For the financial year that began on March 1, it forecasted a 1.3 percent profit increase.