— See Separate Table For Details

TOKYO (MNI) – Combined sales at Japanese department stores in
August will mark a fourth straight year-on-year slump but the pace of
decline slowed from -3.3% in July as heat waves boosted summer clothing
sales, a survey of major store chains by MNI showed.

The Japan Department Stores Association will release August sales
data at 1430 JST (0530 GMT) on Thursday, Sept. 20.

Department store sales in July were hit by bad weather conditions
and low temperatures in the first half of the month, following -1.2% y/y
in June and -1.0% in May.

For August, two of the seven department store chains surveyed
reported their year-over-year sales increased while the remaining five
groups said their sales fell. In July, all of the seven department store
chains polled said their sales were down.

Combined sales in the first half of September (through Sept. 17)
showed a further improvement from August, thanks to the calendar effects
of having more shopping days this year compared with a year before —
three Sundays and a public holiday versus only two Sundays.

Three out of the seven department store chains surveyed said their
sales marked y/y gains in early September, one reported its sales fell,
and the remaining three said there was no change.

Meanwhile, sales may be dampened somewhat in the whole of September
as the number of Chinese visitors to Japan is expected to slump amid the
rekindled territorial dispute over small islands located between the two
countries.

But a spokesman at Takashimaya said, “The issue is expected to have
no major impact on combined sales.”

Spending by Chinese tourists has supported retail sales but sales
to visitors from overseas account for only 0.8% of combined department
store sales, according to the Japan Department Stores Association.

Last time the long-standing Sino-Japanese territorial row flared up
in 2010, department store sales fell 5.2% in September that year,
followed by a 0.6% rise in October and a 0.5% dip in November, partly
due to weather factors.

skodama@marketnews.com
** MNI Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-6860-4823 **

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