Shirokiya was one of Japan's oldest companies, as well as the largest retailer during
the early 20th century. In the 1950s, it was purchased by another Japanese
corporation and began an expansion overseas, primarily in Hawaii. However, in
2001, the company was largely dissolved. Today, the only remnant of the original
company is the Shirokiya department store in Honolulu, a division of Shirokiya
Holdings, LLC, a United States-based corporation.
Shirokiya, Inc.
(the store) is overseen by a seven-person board, all of whom own a part of Shirokiya's
parent company, Shirokiya Holdings, LLC. The CEO & President is Japanese
native Koji Hayashi, who also oversees the few functions of the company that
still remain in Japan. Director and Store Manager Walter Watanabe, as well as the
remaining directors, oversee the bulk of the operations, also serving as store
senior management.
Hikotaro Omura opened a dry goods store at Nihombashi
in Edo, (now Tokyo) in August 1662. Omura called the store Shirokiya Gofukuten,
a name that would last until the 20th century. Over the next few hundred
years, the store slowly expanded, and as Japan entered the Meiji era, Shirokiya
and its main rival at the time, Mitsukoshi, expanded into selling clothing
and other goods in 1886. In 1903, Shirokiya opened a western-style department store,
followed by the creation of a larger store down the street eight years later. |
