Daimaru (大丸) is a Japanese department store chain, principally located in the Kansai region of Japan. The chain is operated by Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores, a subsidiary of J. Front Retailing. At one time Daimaru was an independent company, The Daimaru, Inc. (株式会社大丸), headquartered in Chūō-ku, Osaka.[1]
It has been a member of the International Association of Department Stores from 1962 to 1982. As of 2016, Daimaru had seven stores in Japan, and employed about 3,000 people.
History
Daimaru traces its history to Dai-Monjiya, a dry goods store in Kyoto founded by Shimomura Hikoemon Masahiro in 1717.[2][3] The name "Daimaru" was first used for a store in Nagoya called Daimaruya, which opened in 1728.
The chain was incorporated in 1907 and reincorporated as Daimaru Dry Goods K.K. in 1920, changing its name to Daimaru in 1928.