Wal-Mart Japan unit plans 20 more stores in 2012

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TOKYO, Nov 16 (Reuters): The Japanese arm of US retailer Wal-Mart Stores is planning to add 20 stores across a variety of formats next year, looking to take further advantage of its rising profits in the country, its top executive said. Walmart Japan Holdings President and CEO Steve Dacus also told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday that he was in regular discussions with potential partners and banks about acquisitions after a series of revamps helped to turn the business profitable. "Now we've got a pretty successful business model, and frankly our supermarkets in particular have been really successful, with really good returns, really good performance, so we want to start expanding that as rapidly as we can," Dacus said. The new openings will include all of its formats, which range from Seiyu food stores and general merchandise stores to Wakana delis, although most of the new Seiyu outlets will be food stores, with the sweet spot in the 1000 to 2000 square metre range, he said. The company prefers taking over available retail space to building new space, he added.