Department store group Isetan Mitsukoshi is setting up a JV with vegetable delivery specialist Oisix.

Isetan Mitsukoshi will spin off its mail-order food department to create the venture, probably taking a 51 per cent stake. The new company will offer gourmet foods as well as organic produce from Oisix.

Isetan Mitsukoshi initially teamed up with Oisix in 2013, taking advantage of its logistics infrastructure as well as buying its vegetables. The two have also worked together on promotions and on creating a shopping website.

Meanwhile, the department store’s supermarket unit faces its fifth straight year of losses. Splitting off the mail-order department will free the unit to focus on other activities, including the Queen’s Isetan chain of high-end supermarkets.