Inside one of Trial's "smart" supermarkets.
Christoph Dernbach/picture alliance via Getty ImagesShares of discount supermarket operator Trial Holdings rose 29% in their public debut Thursday on Japan’s Growth market, valuing the company at ¥261.6 billion ($1.73 billion), the country’s largest debut this year.
Trial Holdings managed to raise ¥38.85 billion in an initial public offering that saw the company sell 22.85 million shares at ¥1,700 yen apiece, the upper end of its marketed range of ¥1,600 to ¥1,700. The stock peaked at ¥2,491 on Thursday, before paring back its early gains and closing at ¥2,200.
Proceeds of the IPO will be used to fund new stores, renovations, logistics and processing centers, enhanced fresh food production, and other operations, according to the company’s prospectus. Trial Holdings had originally filed for an IPO last March, but withdrew that plan last April.
Founded in 2015, Fukuoka-headquartered Trial Holdings operates over 280 supermarkets across Japan that sell fresh food, clothing, and other household goods at low prices. Under its subsidiary, Retail AI, Trial Holdings also develops Internet of Things (IoT) software and devices, including high-tech shopping carts and cameras that the company says can use AI to analyze customers’ shopping patterns in its stores. Trial Holdings’ sales increased 9.7% year-over-year to ¥653.1 billion in the year ending June 2023, while profits increased 13.2% to ¥125.2 billion in the same period.
Japan’s IPO activity looks set to ramp up even further in 2024, spurred by corporate governance reforms, improved earnings and increasing demand from foreign investors, according to S&P Global. Aggregate IPO proceeds topped ¥576.51 billion in 2023, compared to ¥349.68 billion in 2022 and ¥735.14 billion in 2021, the firm noted in a research report. Japan’s recent notable IPOs included semiconductor equipment manufacturer Kokusai Electric raising $844 million in October through its listing, which valued the KKR-owned company at $3.6 billion.
Over the past year, Japan has been minting new billionaires on the back of its rising stock market. The newest members of the three-comma club were Takaya Awata, founder and CEO of Tokyo-listed Toridoll Holdings–best known for its popular udon noodle restaurants–and Shunsaku Sagami, the 32-year-old founder and CEO of Tokyo-listed brokerage M&A Research Institute Holdings.
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