This Thursday has gone down in the small economic history of Japan. For the first time in more than sixty years, department store employees went on strike, forcing the closure of Seibu's doors in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. It is the most important of the ten centers in the chain and one of the highest billing centers in the country.
The workers were protesting to prevent the sale of Seibu to the US fund Fortress. Although the operation has been delayed since its announcement in November, the unions consider that they have not received the pertinent explanations regarding the maintenance of jobs and continuity of the brand.
Strikes have been rare in Japan for several decades, where social agreement prevails. Last year only 33 were registered in the entire country, of 120 million inhabitants. A retiree explained to the AFP agency yesterday that he had taken the train for two hours just to see her. The expectation was so great that a television channel recorded the concentration in front of the stores and the subsequent ax from a helicopter.
The unionists lined up in front of Seibu so as not to hinder the passage of pedestrians and apologizing through the megaphone for the inconvenience caused, distributing explanatory brochures of their claim to whoever wanted them.
The parent company, the Japanese Seven
With exquisite tact, the Japanese have maintained 7-Eleven's headquarters in Dallas, where the first store opened after World War II, despite both ownership and core business being in Asia. Japanese workers wonder if they will deserve equally exquisite treatment from another corporate culture.
It should be said that there are more 7 Eleven in Japan, Thailand or South Korea than in their country of origin. In cities like Bangkok or Manila, there is one on practically every corner, which led to the virtual disappearance of the neighborhood food trade -except those of fresh products- many years ago.
Now it is the turn of the department stores, with their selection of leading brands. Obviously, not because of the subsistence consumption for office workers and passersby that defines 7 Eleven, but because of online purchases. In fact, according to the Japanese press, after the purchase of Seibu, the intention is to give up space to Yodobashi Camera, a virtual electronics store that is also the second largest online sales platform in Japan, although a long way from Amazon.
In any case, the parent company not only did not change its mind with the strike, but also signed the transaction yesterday, which will take effect this Friday. The US fund will disburse the equivalent of 1.4 billion euros, an amount denounced as insufficient by the association of former Seibu employees. It is also 190 million less than the one considered in November. Seven
The strike took the Japanese press by surprise yesterday, which on Monday still saw it as unlikely. The unions have had as allies the residents themselves and the neighborhood administration, who fear losing one of their best-known icons and one that attracts more Tokyoites. In fact, the Ikebukuro Seibu, with seventy million customers a year, continues to provide benefits, unlike others in the chain -several have closed in recent years- that did not go on strike yesterday. The brand itself, according to the matrix, has been generating losses for four years (including more than two due to a pandemic).
Seibu merged about fifteen years ago with Sogo, another Japanese multinational known among us because it became the owner of the Hotel Arts in Barcelona, where it had its own large luxury store. sogo
Despite the fact that the strike did not change the decision of the parent multinational - "it should have happened earlier" - several participants yesterday expressed their satisfaction at having been able to publicly expose their claims to the entire country.
According to some sociologists, the very existence of the strike shows that the labor force is recovering bargaining power in Japan, thanks to the low birth rate and scant immigration. This year, Japanese workers have achieved the largest wage increases in three decades, although these are largely explained by a no less atypical inflation rate.
Finally, it should be noted that the number of department stores has halved in 25 years in Japan, a country in demographic decline. Many have also been converted into hybrid spaces, with spaces for franchises and cafeterias.
