TOKYO (MNI) – Japanese department store sales fell for a third
straight month in January, dropping 1.1% y/y to Y554.1 billion ($6.65
billion) as record-breaking snowstorms kept shoppers away, data from the
Japan Department Stores Association showed Friday.
The sales decline in January followed a 1.5% y/y sales drop in
December and a 0.5% fall in November.
Spending on duty-free items by Chinese and other tourists from
overseas rose 3.1% on year in January, posting a second straight month
of increase.
Sales to overseas customers account for less than 1% of overall
department store sales, although major chain stores have been working to
attract them.
The association compiles data from 90 companies running 259
department stores that have been open for at least a year prior to the
survey being conducted. The data are adjusted to facilitate comparisons
on a same-store basis.
In Tokyo, combined sales at 26 department stores rose 1.4% in
January from a year earlier, marking the first rise in two months, after
falling 0.3% in December.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4835 **
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