Aeon (company)

Aeon Co., Ltd. (イオン株式会社, Ion Kabushiki gaisha; [iꜜoɴ]; occasionally stylized as ÆON), formerly Jusco Co., Ltd. (ジャスコ株式会社, Jasuko Kabushiki gaisha), is a Japanese diversified retail holding company. It is one of the largest retail companies in Japan, owning Aeon hypermarkets, Aeon Mall and Aeon Town shopping malls, Daiei, MaxValu, Maruetsu, and My Basket supermarkets, Ministop convenience store, Welcia drugstore, and Aeon Cinema movie theaters.

Aeon traces its origins back to 1758 during the Edo period in Japan when it was established as a small sundry goods store called Shinohara-ya (篠原屋). Later, it was renamed Okada-ya Gofuku (岡田屋呉服店) after the founding family. In 1970, Okada-ya merged with several other companies it had established and became Jusco. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, Jusco expanded and in 2001 changed its name to Aeon. In 2010, Aeon merged with its subsidiary retail companies and consolidated all its hypermarket brands such as Jusco, MYCALGroup and Saty under the Aeon name. In 2021, Aeon was the 17th largest retailer in the world by revenue.