| Marukai Corporation U.S.A., Inc. | |
| Type: | Department store, grocer, former subsidiary of Marukai Corporation |
| Foundation: | in Hawaii |
| Founders: |
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| Location: | Gardena, California |
| Locations: | 14 |
| Area Served: | California, Hawaii |
| Industry: | Department stores, market |
| Products: | Imported Japanese goods |
| Num Employees: | 670 (400 in California, 270 in Hawaii) |
| Subsid: | 98cent Plus Markets (defunct) |
| Divisions: | Tokyo Central |
| Homepage: | marukai.com |
Marukai Corporation U.S.A. is an American offshoot chain of retail markets that imports and sells Japanese goods in American cities started by the Osaka, Japan-based . Unlike other Japanese supermarkets, which may carry non-Japanese products based on local diversity, Marukai has Hawaiian products as a core focus in addition to Japanese in all its stores. Its headquarters are in Gardena, California, in Greater Los Angeles.[1]
The company was founded in 1965 by Richard and Hidejiro Matsu, sons of the founder of parent company Marukai Trading.[2] In 1975, the company established Marukai Los Angeles. By 1980, it changed to its current name and opened Marukai Wholesale Mart in Gardena, California. The company began to emphasize membership-based retail shopping.
In 1999, the company opened its first 98cent Plus Store carrying Daiso products, before Daiso had its own stores in US. The company has since expanded to 11 locations in California with over 400 employees in California. These stores sell Japanese food and household items.[3]
In 2013, Don Quijote purchased 100 percent of Marukai stock.[4] In 2015, Marukai started operating stores under the name Tokyo Central.[5]
Marukai
Tokyo Central
On March 9, 2006, Marukai agreed to pay a $52,000 fine to the United States Environmental Protection Agency for selling 11 unregistered Japanese pesticide products.[7]
In 2011, the company was fined $222,030 for selling and distributing unregistered pesticides and mislabeled pesticide devices, violations that were found in 2008.[8]