Decline
When the company faced financial difficulties, it was split into two companies, one in Japan and with the overseas part headquartered in Hong Kong, in a bid to survive. The group was traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as Yaohan International Company Limited until 11 August 1998. Through a combination of the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the stagnation of the Japanese retail market, however, the group declared bankruptcy with 161 billion yen of debts. It was the biggest postwar failure in Japan's retail sector at the time. The super-market chain asked for protection from creditors under Japan's Corporate Rehabilitation Law on 18 September 1997. Many outlets were closed.
In March 2000, Yaohan in Japan was bought by ÆON Group and changed its name to Maxvalu Tokai. Other stores in the U.S. were bought by Mitsuwa, Maruwa, and Marukai, the latter two based in Los Angeles.
A former Yaohan department store in Macau is operating under the trading name New Yaohan (新八佰伴), operated by Yaohan International Company Limited in Hong Kong which is locally owned and no longer has a connection with the Wada family. Yaohan Best has been renamed as Best Denki.
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