Japanese supermarket chain LOPIA struggled to draw shoppers when it arrived in Taiwan in 2023, but it has since become one of the island's most talked about grocers, prompting the operator of Taiwan's 7-Eleven stores to agree to pay about US$65 million for a majority stake in its local retail business.
President Chain Store Corp., the Uni-President Group company that runs 7-Eleven in Taiwan, announced the investment on April 30, 2026. The deal is subject to approval from Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission and was expected to close by the end of 2026. LOPIA operated 11 stores in Taiwan at the time of the announcement. Dollar figures in this report are converted from New Taiwan dollars at about 31.8 to the US dollar.
Retail And Product Control Split Between Partners
The investment is divided between two newly formed companies, according to Taiwanese business outlet Business Next. President Chain Store will pay about US$60 million for 51% of the company that runs LOPIA's supermarkets in Taiwan, giving it control of sales channels, while OIC Group, the Japanese company that operates LOPIA, keeps 49%. In a separate food processing company, President Chain Store will pay about US$4.6 million for 49%, leaving LOPIA's side in the lead on product development.
Hitoshi Mizumoto, general manager of LOPIA Taiwan, called the arrangement a strategic capital partnership rather than an acquisition, Mirror Media reported. He said the chain had hit limits in its logistics system and central kitchen capacity, and that President Chain Store had agreed to keep him in his post.
Meat And Ready Meals Drive The Business Model
LOPIA, whose name reflects a "Low Price Utopia" philosophy, grew out of a Japanese butcher shop and still builds its business around food. It skips household goods, using competitively priced meat to pull in sales of vegetables, seafood, seasonings and prepared dishes.
Buying a wide range of cuts and processing them itself lets the chain turn different parts of the animal into sliced barbecue meat, steaks, ground meat and hot pot slices, as well as boxed meals and fried food. That cuts waste and improves margins.
Individual stores also get room to adapt. Rather than relying entirely on headquarters, branches adjust their product mix, prices, displays and promotions to the neighborhood and shoppers they serve. The formula places LOPIA between PX Mart, which wins on convenience, and Costco, which depends on bulk buying and memberships.
A Kaohsiung Opening Sparked The Turnaround
LOPIA opened its first Taiwan store at Taichung's LaLaport mall in 2023, then added branches in Taoyuan and New Taipei's Zhonghe district. Mizumoto has said early business was slow, with unsold and expired stock a frequent problem.
The picture changed in October 2024, when a store opened at Kaohsiung's Hanshin Arena mall and became an instant hit. Southern Taiwan had few Japanese supermarket brands, and the buzz lifted LOPIA's profile across the island.
Prepared food did much of the work. Most Taiwanese supermarkets treat ready-to-eat meals as a sideline, but LOPIA put them at the center, with freshly made sushi, pizza, fried food and boxed meals. That suits a market where many people eat out and households are getting smaller, and it brings repeat visits and higher margins.
Location helped too. By opening inside busy malls such as LaLaport and Hanshin Arena, LOPIA spared itself the cost of drawing crowds on its own, since shoppers come across the store while browsing, dining or heading to the cinema.
Social media added to the momentum. Mizumoto built a following by replying to users on Threads himself, answering everything from requests for new stores to complaints about stock and prices. That changed after the investment news. On May 9, he said he would close the account on July 31, citing a wave of hostile comments since April, while remaining general manager, ETtoday reported.
Fans Want More Stores But Fear Losing Japanese Flavor
Many online users have asked LOPIA to open branches in central districts, and Taiwanese business media have reported plans to sell selected products through 7-Eleven, including in eastern Taiwan. President Chain Store's logistics and site selection experience could speed up the chain's expansion, and the tie-up could reshape Taiwan's fresh food supermarket market.
Not everyone welcomed the deal. After the announcement, many shoppers said online that they feared LOPIA would become ordinary and lose its Japanese character. On May 1, Mizumoto posted on Threads that the store name, management philosophy and product strategy would stay the same, but the post was later removed, which fueled suspicion online, Newtalk reported.
Mizumoto has said the goal remains to expand across Taiwan while keeping Japanese quality and the LOPIA brand identity intact.
