Japanese home electronics retailer Yamada Holdings and rival Edion said they reached an agreement to integrate their operations, leading to the creation of a giant retail chain with combined annual sales of roughly ?2.5 trillion ($15.6 billion).

Yamada Holdings, whose core subsidiary is Yamada Denki, is already the industry¡¯s top player. The integration will create an even bigger group far ahead of competitors, including second-biggest Nojima.

The two companies hope to leverage economies of scale to reduce procurement costs, but another focus is to expand beyond being a discount retailer of consumer electronics and develop their own products and businesses that contribute to enriching people¡¯s lives.