Japan February department store sales up 1.7% year-on-year

March 20, 2007
By Ken Worsley

On the heels of the announcement that department store giants Daimaru and Matsuzakaya will be merging their operations, the Japan Department Store Association has announced that nationwide department store sales in February were up 1.7% from February 2006, reaching 529.58 billion yen.

This is the second straight monthly gain in department store sales, after last month’s reported +0.0%. This month’s survey included figures from 277 shops owned by 95 companies, showing an increase of one retail outlet.

Clothing sales, which make up the largest chunk of revenue at department stores by sector, were up 0.3%, after having fallen 1% last month. Food sales were up 1.3%, sundry goods up 2.7% and the sale of household items rose 1.7%.

The JDSA attributed the rise in revenue to a combination of early sales of spring clothes, large corporate orders and effective sales promotions.

Figures in Tokyo were not quite so good, showing a decline in year-on-year sales for the fifth consecutive month, with a fall of 0.3% to 126.2 billion yen. The Tokyo report included figures from 28 shops owned by 13 companies, unchanged from January.

Filed Under Business, Department Stores