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Mitsuwa Marketplace

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Mitsuwa Marketplace

Mitsuwa Corporation, doing business as Mitsuwa Marketplace (Japanese: ミツワマーケットプレイス, Hepburn: Mitsuwa Mākettopureisu) and commonly referred as Mitsuwa, is an American chain of Japanese supermarkets headquartered in Torrance, California. It was formed in March 1998 from Wanoba Group Inc.'s acquisition of Yaohan USA after the parent company, Yaohan, filed for bankruptcy. On December 21, 2012, the Kamei Corporation [ja] acquired Wanoba Group Inc.

Mitsuwa is one of the largest Japanese supermarket chains in the United States, operating 13 store locations in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas. It features an extensive array of imported Japanese goods and products. In addition to their supermarket, most locations also offer food courts featuring mainly Japanese and other Asian cuisine. Some also host Japanese retail stores and services, such as Books Kinokuniya, Daiso, and Shiseido. Because of this, it is often referred as a mini-mall.

Under President Kazuo Wada's international expansion plans, Yaohan established subsidiary Yaohan USA by opening its first location in Fresno in 1979. Yaohan continued opening stores throughout California, such as Torrance and Costa Mesa.

In September 1988, Yaohan opened its first East Coast location in Edgewater, New Jersey. In September 1991, Yaohan expanded to Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It opened as the largest Japanese supermarket in the American Midwest. Both locations planned on constructing hotels with a Japanese communal tub on the rooftop. The purpose of the projects was drawing in local communities from around the areas. However, for reasons unknown, the projects never came to fruition. In 1992, the Torrance store relocated to a larger space in the city's eastern edge to account for increased popularity amongst Japanese-Americans.

In September 1997, Yaohan declared bankruptcy, citing the 1997 Asian financial crisis, stagnation of the Japanese retail market, and company debt of ¥171 billion, or $1.42 billion. In March 1998, Yaohan USA executives branched off to form a new company called Wanoba Group, Inc. and acquired the American locations. They used the assets to form a new subsidiary called Mitsuwa Corporation and rebranded the supermarkets as Mitsuwa Marketplace.

Throughout the 2000s, Mitsuwa continued operations. On January 25, 2009, the Los Angeles location in the Little Tokyo neighborhood closed due to Korean investors purchasing the property for $35 million. On December 17, 2011, Mitsuwa opened a new location in Irvine, California, their second supermarket in Orange County.

On December 21, 2012, the Kamei Corporation [ja], a Japanese trading company, acquired Wanoba Group Inc. for $27.8 million with plans of retaining their management team and keeping business intact.

In 2017, Mitsuwa expanded to two U.S. states outside of California. On April 14, 2017, they entered the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with a store in Plano, Texas, the biggest city in Collin County. It was chosen for their large Asian population and the recently relocated headquarters of Toyota Motor North America from Torrance, California. On May 15, 2017, Mitsuwa opened a new location in Waikīkī, Hawaii, at the International Market Place.

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