Deals
Stuck-at-Home Demand Prompts Japan Hardware Store Consolidation
- Arcland to pay $1 billion to buy hardware rival Lixil Viva
- Dispersed hardware chains have seen sales boom in pandemic
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A rare bright spot in Japan’s retail space during the coronavirus pandemic has been the nation’s hardware stores, with sales surging as stuck-at-home Japanese took to doing up their gardens and balconies during the country’s state of emergency.
That may be spurring an overdue consolidation of the fragmented industry, with Arcland Sakamoto Co. planning to buy out larger rival Lixil Group Corp. unit Lixil Viva Corp. for a total of 108.5 billion yen ($1 billion). Investors welcomed the news, driving Arcland up 15% Tuesday on heavy volume, the biggest jump since September 2014. Lixil Viva climbed 3.2%, while Lixil Group was unchanged.