— See Separate Table For Details
TOKYO (MNI) – Combined sales at Japanese department stores are
forecast to show a larger decline in June than May’s -1.0% in what could
be the second consecutive month of falls as a result of bad weather
conditions, a survey of major store chains by MNI showed.
The Japan Department Stores Association will release June sales
data at 1430 JST (0530 GMT) on Thursday, July 19.
Combined sales in May posted the first fall in three months after
+1.3% in April and +14.1% in March.
Only one of the seven department store chains surveyed reported a
year-over-year sales increase in June while five groups said their sales
dropped, and the remaining one said there was no change from a year
before. In May, four reported increases and three posted a decline.
Spokesmen at some department stores said their June sales were
pushed down as low temperatures dampened demand for summer clothing, and
a typhoon kept shoppers away from stores.
Meanwhile, their sales have been even weaker in the early July, as
some major suppliers of clothing have delayed starting summer sales in a
bid to improve profits.
Three of the six department store chains surveyed said their sales
showed falls in early July, while the remaining three reported their
sales showed no change on year.
About 95% of clothing suppliers started summer sales from July 1 in
in recent several years, a spokesman at Takashimaya said, adding that
only 40% of them had started sales from July 1 this year, and the
remaining 60% started from July 13.
But spokesmen at many department stores have not turned pessimistic
about overall consumption.
“Consumers’ purchasing power has not lost steam,” said a spokesman
at J. Front Retailing, which owns Daimaru and Matsuzakaya.
A spokesman at Sogo & Seibu said, “We forecast our sales will show
a gain on year in the whole of July,” although its sales posted no
change on year in the early part of the month.
skodama@marketnews.com
** MNI Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4838 **
[TOPICS: M$J$$$,M$A$$$,MAJDS$]
