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Tag: Japan Department Stores Association

  • Sales slide continues for Japanese retailers

    Sales slide continues for Japanese retailers

    The supermarket and department-store sales slide in Japan continued last month, say industry bodies.

    There was little impact yet from the Premium Friday campaign launched last month by the government and business community to encourage people to spend more with Japanese retailers by letting workers finish work early on the last Friday of every month, reports Japan Today.

    Supermarket sales fell 3.3 per cent from a year earlier, down for the third straight month. This is partly because of weak sales of clothing and household products, says the Japan Chain Stores Association. Overall sales at 9464 supermarkets run by 57 companies totalled ¥961.62 billion (US$872.9 billion).

    While sales of clothing dropped 9 per cent, household products including pharmaceuticals and furniture declined 4 per cent, says the association.

    Department-store sales slid 1.7 per cent, falling for the 12th consecutive month, says the Japan Department Stores Association. Overall sales at 234 stores run by 81 companies totalled ¥433.67 billion.

    Sales of clothing dropped 4.5 per cent, while sales of household items and food fell 8.6 and 0.8 per cent respectively, says the association.

    Both associations say the month’s weak retail sales were also affected by one less trading day in February last year, a leap year.

    While the Premium Friday campaign helped push up sales at department stores in large cities, it had little impact on supermarket sales, the associations say.

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  • Waiting for Japanese department store to wake up

    Waiting for Japanese department store to wake up

    Japanese department-store sales dropped 2.4 per cent in November from a year earlier on a same-store basis, down for the ninth consecutive month.

    Overall sales at 234 outlets run by 81 companies stood at ¥525.7 billion (US$4.6 billion), the Japan Department Stores Association says, noting the size of the decrease had shrunk for the third straight month.
    Association officials say department stores are hopeful for a turnaround in December through the year-end shopping spree.

    Sales dropped for almost all categories in November, with exceptions including cosmetics. Sales fell 2.4 per cent for clothing and 0.6 per cent for food. Same-store declines were smaller than October’s 6.5 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively.

    Sales of tax-free goods to overseas visitors dropped 7.1 per cent to about ¥14.5 billion – the first contraction of less than 10 per cent in seven months.

    Meanwhile, the Japan Franchise Association has reported an 0.5 per cent increase in convenience store sales in November, reaching ¥773.4 billion on a same-store basis, up for the second straight month.
    It says the increase reflects brisk sales of prepared meals such as fried foods as well as the winter dish oden.

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  • Seven & I store closures hit regions

    Seven & I store closures hit regions

    Losses have forced two Seven & I store closures in regional Japan, both outlets after 40 years of trading.

    Seven & I Holdings, which owns the Sogo and Seibu department store chains, is closing a Sogo store in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, and a Seibu store in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Both are scheduled to shut their doors on September 30, and the company has not revealed any plans for either site.

    Japan’s regional department stores have been hit hard by competition from major shopping developments and other factors. Also, they are not easily accessible for foreign tourists, so have not benefited from the tourism boom.

    “It has been difficult to attract customers and we cannot continue to run deficits,” says Seven & I Holdings president Noritoshi Murata.

    Sogo and Seibu are known for having a higher ratio of regional outlets than other major department store chains, says The Japan News. Since their sales peaked in the 1990s, both Sogo Kashiwa and Seibu Asahikawa have been on a downward trend.

    Many other regional department stores have already closed. The Kenmin Department Store in Kumamoto, in business for more than 40 years under different names, shuttered in February last year. The Imari Tamaya store in Imari, Saga Prefecture, closed in January, citing a shrinking population, poor sales and other factors.

    Run by Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, the Marui Imai department store in Hakodate, Hokkaido, has reported a 4.8 per cent drop in sales to ¥6.3 billion (US$55.46 million) for the nine months ending December compared to the same period the previous year. In contrast, the Mitsukoshi Ginza store in Tokyo logged ¥64.3 billion in sales during the same period, up 19.6 per cent from the previous year. The Ginza outlet has been helped by increased foreign tourism.

    Department stores in 10 major cities sold about ¥12.1 million per 100 sqm in January, compared to about ¥5.68 million in regional stores, according to the Japan Department Stores Association.

    “It will be difficult to close the gap,” says an association official.

    Meanwhile, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings plans to increase small and midsize stores nationwide from 102 to 180 by the end of the 2018 fiscal year.

    Takashimaya last year created in-store displays of cosmetics and other products available online instead of at the regional outlets themselves.

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