TRIAL Holdings told Japan's Kanto Local Finance Bureau on August 21, 2026 that it is taking apart Seiyu's corporate structure before handing part of it to an outside buyer. The plan separates the supermarket chain's stores from its real estate, and only the stripped-down property entity is being sold.
The mechanics
Seiyu will transfer everything it currently does, food, apparel and household-goods retailing, except the rental and management of a defined set of "liquidation-target" store properties, to ST Retail, a subsidiary two levels below TRIAL Holdings, through an absorption-type corporate split effective November 1, 2026. On that date ST Retail will take on the Seiyu name and continue running the stores. The original Seiyu entity will be renamed Unicorn.
What is left of the old Seiyu once the retail business moves out is a company whose stated line of work becomes real estate rental and management for those liquidation-target properties. TRIAL's board resolved on August 21 to sell all shares in that renamed entity to a buyer called Unicorn GK, and TRIAL's subsidiary, Trial Company, signed the share transfer agreement the same day. The sale is scheduled to close on December 1, 2026.
What changes hands
TRIAL's voting rights in the target company fall from 99,234,000, equivalent to 100% of the company's voting rights, to zero. As of August 21, the target's capital stood at ¥100mn, a figure that predates the store-operations split and will not reflect the pared-down real estate business once the handover is complete.
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| August 21, 2026 | TRIAL's board resolves to sell all shares of Seiyu (to be renamed Unicorn) to Unicorn GK; TRIAL subsidiary Trial Company signs the share transfer agreement. |
| November 1, 2026 | Seiyu transfers all retail operations, except rental and management of liquidation-target store properties, to subsidiary ST Retail via an absorption-type split. ST Retail is renamed Seiyu; the original entity is renamed Unicorn. |
| December 1, 2026 (planned) | Share transfer to Unicorn GK closes. TRIAL's voting rights in the renamed Unicorn entity fall from 100% (99,234,000 voting rights) to zero. |
TRIAL filed the report because the sale means the renamed Unicorn entity will stop counting as one of TRIAL's "specified subsidiaries" once the transfer closes, a status change that Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act requires companies to disclose.
The filing does not name a purchase price, disclose financing terms, or describe any prior relationship between TRIAL and Unicorn GK beyond identifying it as the buyer. It also does not specify which store properties fall under the "liquidation-target" definition that determines what stays with the renamed Unicorn entity, or how many locations the retained Seiyu business will run once the split and sale are both complete.