TOKYO (MNI) – Department store sales in Japan fell 0.5% from a year
earlier to Y555.6 billion in November, posting the first y/y drop in two
months after marking its first rise in 32 months in October, mainly
because November this year had only four Sundays, one fewer than a year
before, the Japan Department Stores Association said Monday.
On the upside, lower temperatures continued to support sales of
winter clothing while sales of cosmetics showed the first y/y rise in 24
months, it said.
Spending on duty-free items by Chinese and other tourists from
overseas fell 2.5% on year in November, down for two straight months
after -7.0% in October and +18.7% in September, due to the continued
appreciation of the yen against other currencies.
Before the yen’s sharp rise prompted Japan to conduct its first
yen-selling intervention in more than six years in September, duty-free
purchases in Japan marked +51.9% in July and +99.1% in June.
Sales to overseas customers account for less than 1% of overall
department store sales, although major store chains have been seeking
ways to attract them.
The association compiles data from 91 companies running 261
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 27 department stores rose 0.3% on year,
marking the second straight year-on-year gain after rising 2.7% in
October, which was the first increase in 32 months.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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