IPO Profile: Jason Co.

Tokyo, April 9 (Jiji Press)–Discount store operator Jason Co. will make its debut on the Osaka Securities Exchange’s Hercules market for startups on April 26.

Established in 1973, the Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture-based firm runs 53 outlets that sell a wide range of goods including clothing, processed foods and alcoholic beverages in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

It hopes to build a nationwide network in the future.

Jason hopes that the initial public offering will help boost its presence amid tough competition with such rivals as drug stores, a company official said.

For the business year to February 2008, the company forecasts a group net profit of 425 million yen, up 9.2 pct from a year before, and sales of 15.9 billion yen, up 8.3 pct.END

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