Japanese Operator H2O Joints Venture to Sell More Bread in Taiwan

Japanese department store operator H2O Retailing Corp. will set up a joint venture in Taiwan to meet growing consumer demand for freshly baked bread.

H2O will upgrade its partnership with PX Mart Co., a local supermarket chain, to sell more freshly made bread in Taiwan, according to japantimes.co.jp.

The companies said that Chuan-lian Hankyu Bakery Co. will be formed in mid-May, with H2O owning 49% of its New Taiwan dollar NTD260m (USD8.4m) capital and PX 51%.

They will increase the number of bread-baking outlets from the current 61 to 255 this year and to 880 by the end of 2021.

In late 2016, PX began importing frozen bread dough from Hankyu B&C Planning Co., H2O’s wholly owned bread manufacturer and store operator.

PX subsequently started selling freshly baked bread at its supermarkets. The Taiwan retailer expects to cut shipping and duty costs by about 30% by producing dough locally.

PX sold about 850,000 buns at its stores last year.