Leveraging AI Pays Off For Japan’s Discount Retailing Billionaire

AsiaEditors' PickLeveraging AI Pays Off For Japan’s Discount Retailing BillionaireByJames Simms, Former Contributor. Jun 08, 2026, 05:47pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This story appears in the June 2026 issue of Forbes Asia. Subscribe to Forbes AsiaTrial HoldingsThis story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Japan’s Richest 2026. See the full list here. Discount supermarket chain Trial Holdings, founded by billionaire chairman Hisao Nagata and run by his son Hiro as president since April 2025, is forecasting double-digit growth in revenue and operating profit of ¥1.32 trillion ($8.3 billion) and ¥25.4 billion, respectively, for the year through June. Shares of the Fukuoka-based retailer surged 32% in the past 12 months, boosting Nagata’s net worth to $1.4 billion. The sales traction partly stems from its $2.4 billion acquisition last year of domestic rival Seiyu from private equity giant KKR and U.S.-based Walmart, a move that expanded Trial’s footprint by 245 supermarkets to take its total store count to over 600 across Japan. In February, Trial outlined a three-year business plan targeting annual revenue of ¥1.6 trillion and operating profit of ¥64 billion through June 2029. Nagata built his empire on the back of a modest antique store started by his father that he took over in 1981. Inspired after visiting Walmart in the U.S., he opened Trial’s first discount supermarket in 1992. He latched onto AI long before the current boom, establishing Trial’s tech unit, Retail AI, in 2018 to develop products such as smart shopping carts and AI-powered cameras to track shopper behavior and monitor inventory. Trial’s IPO in 2024 made the retail magnate a billionaire. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions