Ito-Yokado Co., Ltd. (株式会社イトーヨーカ堂, Kabushiki-gaisha Itō Yōkadō) is a Japanese general merchandise, shopping center, grocery store and department store originally founded in 1920. In 2005, it was reorganized, as part of a corporate restructuring, as a subsidiary of the Seven & I Holdings Co.
As of February 2023, there were 126 Ito-Yokado stores operating in Japan. In 2023 the company announced that it would be closing down 33 stores. Ito-Yokado entered the Chinese market in 1996, opening the first store in Chengdu, Sichuan province. As of 2023, the company has 12 stores in China, with 1 in Beijing, 11 in Sichuan.
Musical codes
Inside Ito-Yokado, the staff working at the register can play instrumentals of famous musical pieces, which is a code to workers in the store for specific things to do. These are:
- Help! (The Beatles) - A call for additional staff to man the tills during periods of high customer traffic.
- Daydream Believer (The Monkees) - Played during ordinary operation.
- Rhythm of the Rain (The Cascades) - To inform customers of heavy rain outside the building.
- Carmen (Georges Bizet) - Robbery and other criminal activities in the premises.
- Symphony No. 5, 1st. Movement (Allegro con brio) (Beethoven) - Bomb threat.
References
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)
