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Japan supermarket sales fall 2.7% in January

According to data released today by the Japan Chain Stores Association, supermarket sales in Japan fell 2.7% in January. Sales of clothing and household products heavily pulled down sales, which totaled 1.15 trillion yen, and showed a fall for the second consecutive month.

Here is a breakdown of January’s adjusted figures (not including stores opened within the past twelve months):

• Food: +0.7%, 61.3% of total revenue
• Household Products: -5.5%, 20.0% of total revenue
• Clothing: -10.9%, 12.4% of total revenue
• Miscellaneous Items: -7.2%, 6.0% of total revenue
• Services: +8.4%, 0.4% of total revenue

The figures include 8,778 stores operated by 70 companies. The number of supermarkets increased by 125 against a year ago. When figures from those newly opened stores are included, sales showed a 1.8% fall.

Sales per square meter fell 4.2% as available floor space increased 2.5%. The number of employees at Japan’s supermarkets increased by 1.7% in January.

Japan supermarket sales up 0.6% in November - though down 2.8% when all shops counted

While the yen’s recent strength against the dollar has been a cause for worry amongst Japan’s exporting industries, a few of the nation’s supermarkets have turned the situation to their advantage. Aeon, Japan’s largest retailer, has been holding “Strong Yen Sales” with markdowns on imported wines, meat and fish.

Has this marketing strategy been successful? It’s difficult to gauge its direct impact on supermarket sales, but according to the Japan Chain Store Association, supermarket sales in Japan rose 0.6% in November, showing their first rise since this July - and only the third rise in the past 35 months.

While headlines announced a rise in supermarket sales for November, it’s worth noting that these are the adjusted figures, and do not include supermarkets opened within the past 12 months. When those shops are included, we see a 2.8% fall against figures from a year ago - and the same was true in both July and February, the other two months this year in which a “rise” in supermarket sales was reported.

Here is a breakdown of October’s adjusted figures (not including stores opened within the past twelve months): Read more

Clothing sales pounded as Japan’s supermarket sales fell 1.6% in October

Following a 2.2% decline in September, supermarket sales in Japan fell a further 1.6% in October on a year-on-year basis, according to figures released today by the Japan Chain Store Association.

Here is a breakdown of October’s adjusted figures (not including stores opened within the past twelve months):

• Food: +1.1%, 62.4% of total revenue
• Household Products: -3.7%, 19.7% of total revenue
• Clothing: -10.8%, 11.6% of total revenue
• Miscellaneous Items: -3.4%, 6.0% of total revenue
• Services: +4.6%, 0.4% of total revenue

When stores opened within the past twelve months are included in the figures, Japan’s supermarkets saw a 5.2% decline in sales compared to a year ago. The total number of shops open declined by 20 to 8,724, while sales per square meter fell 4.9%. The total number of employees fell 2.8% to 437,847.

Japan supermarket sales down 1.0% in August

After seeing a 0.9% rise in July, Japan’s supermarket sales slid 1.0% in August to 1.11 trillion yen. With the decline in August, Japan’s supermarket sales have now fallen for 20 of the past 32 months.

Here is a breakdown of August’s adjusted figures (not including stores opened within the past twelve months): Read more

Japan supermarket sales up 0.9% in July, first rise since February

Japan’s supermarket sales rose for the first time in four months in July, post a 0.9% gain to 1.12 trillion yen, according to the Japan Chain Stores Association. These figures follow a 0.9% fall in May, and represents only the second time supermarket sales have increased in the past 31 months. However, when new shops (those opened within the past year) are included in the data, supermarkets saw a 4.4% decline in sales.

Here is a breakdown of June’s adjusted figures (not including newly opened stores): Read more

Japan’s June supermarket sales down 0.9%

Japan’s supermarket sales fell for the third consecutive month in June, sliding 0.9% to 1.08 trillion yen, according to the Japan Chain Stores Association. These figures follow a 1.1% fall in May. Actually, when new shops (those opened within the past year) are included in the data, supermarkets saw a 5.0% decline in sales.

As we continue to see almost every month, outside of food sales, supermarkets are not doing very well at all. Here is a breakdown of June’s adjusted figures:

• Food: +2.4%, 62.0% of total revenue
• Household Products: -4.5%, 19.6% of total revenue
• Clothing: -9.8%, 12.2% of total revenue
• Miscellaneous Items: +2.0%, 5.9% of total revenue
• Services: +0.2%, 0.4% of total revenue

Sales per square meter fell 2.8% to 47,745 yen. Read more

Japan supermarket sales fall 1.1% in May

Japan’s supermarket sales fell for the second consecutive month in May, dipping 1.1% to 1.095 trillion yen, according to the Japan Chain Stores Association. These figures follow a 0.8% fall in April. Actually, when new shops (those opened within the past year) are included in the data, supermarkets saw a 6.4% decline in sales.

As we are seeing almost every month, outside of food sales, supermarkets are not doing very well at all. Here is a breakdown of May’s adjusted figures: Read more

Japan’s supermarket sales up 1.4% in March for second straight monthly rise

In February, Japan’s supermarkets finally showed an official rise in sales after having declined for 25 straight months. However, as we noted, sales were actually down 2.39% when not “adjusted”, i.e., when stores opened in the past year were included. March figures were similar, with a 1.4% official rise reported, but sales down 4.0% when newly opened shops are included.

In March, total sales rose 0.4% to 1.08 trillion yen. Once again, aside from food sales, supermarkets did not fare well. Here’s a breakdown of sales by category in March (these are adjusted figures):

• Food: +2.7%, 61.5% of total revenue
• Household Products: -0.4, 20.0% of total revenue
• Clothing: -2.5%, 11.8% of total revenue
• Miscellaneous Items: +2.2%, 6.3% of total revenue
• Services: -1.8%, 0.4% of total revenue

Just slightly over a year ago, we reported with some surprise that Tesco had decided to move into the Japanese market, with plans to open up to 35 shops. At that time, Japan’s supermarket sales had been down for 15 straight months, and the growth of discount 100 yen shops, the surge in department store food sales, the increase in the number of single person households and the ongoing woes of Wal-Mart made Tesco’s task seem difficult, to say the least. On Monday, the Nikkei Marketing Journal reported that things have been somewhat difficult for Tesco thus far, with sales at its 8 Japan locations showing a 4% decline in year-on-year sales.

Tesco has a reputation of quickly exiting markets that do not turn out to be profitable. However, the firm seems to be echoing Wal-Mart in its dogged pursuit of success in Japan. Tesco plans to send Michael Fleming, who has a very strong record with bringing success to the firm’s Asia operations, over to join the management team in Japan.

Best of luck to Mr Fleming. Supermarket operations are one of the toughest businesses in Japan, and although a shrinking population combined with the growth in single person households will make his task daunting one, there are still inefficiencies in the market to overcome and competitive advantages to be had.

It may also interest our readers that while convenience store sales fell 0.6% in March, 7-11 Japan has been quick to react to the desire of many consumers to buy domestic food products. According to the Nikkei, 93% of vegetables in 7-11’s bentos are domestically-sourced:

Seven-Eleven Japan Co. is accelerating its efforts to raise the percentage of domestically grown vegetables in its bento boxed meals, sandwiches and other items to improve the taste of its offerings as well as address growing consumer concern about food safety.

Currently, 93% of the vegetables used by the firm are grown in Japan, a relatively high percentage compared to the 80% level at major retailers of prepared foods and family restaurants, and the even lower ratio at rival convenience stores.

Of course, 7-11 was ahead of the curve on this one:

Seven-Eleven’s plan, which dates back to around 2000, started in order to offer more delicious food items, rather than to ensure safety.

They do seem to be trying hard to beat us over the head with the “taste” factor.

Japan supermarket sales show first rise in 26 months in February

In January, we saw Japan’s supermarket sales fall for the 25th consecutive month and wondered when this site would finally be able to report a rise in sales. It has finally happened: According to data released by the Japan Chain Stores Association, supermarket sales in Japan were up 1.9% in February on a year-on-year basis.

It’s way too soon to say we have an uptrend, as supermarket sales have still fallen in 46 of the past 48 months. We are also suspicious that rising prices might have more to do with the increase than a pickup in consumer spending, though we will have to wait until the end of this week to see the data on household spending for February.

Here’s a breakdown of sales by category in February: Read more

Japan supermarket sales down 1.7% in January, falling for 25th straight month

During the brief history of this website, we have yet been able to report a rise in Japan’s supermarket sales. At some point we are sure it will come along, but it did not happen in January, according to data released yesterday by the Japan Chain Stores Association.

The figures show a 1.7% decline compared to the January 2007. Not only have sales now fallen for 25 straight months, but they have fallen in 46 of the past 47 months. The JCSA data is based on sales at 8,653 shops owned by 78 companies that have been in operation for at least one year.

The truly frightening figure is that when sales at newly opened stores are included, they fell by a stunning 5.6 percent. Usually the inclusion of these stores makes the numbers look a little bit better. In December, sales had been down 1.5% including such shops, and 1.8% when they were filtered out.

Here’s a breakdown by category for January sales:

• Food: -0.3%, 59.4% of total revenue
• Household Products: -3.6%, 20.6% of total revenue
• Clothing: -4.2%, 13.8% of total revenue
• Miscellaneous Items: -1.4%, 5.9% of total revenue
• Services: -11.3%, 0.3% of total revenue

Food sales had risen slightly in December, while all other categories were down.

We also see some interesting figures in terms of employment. In January, There were a total of 441,651 employees on payroll at the nation’s supermarkets, down from 467,866 in December. This is a 5.6% decline in workforce. The number of full-time workers fell from 134,335 in December to 128,737 in January, while the number of part-timers fell from 333,531 in December to 312,914 last month.

The JCSA points out that the scandal over frozen Chinese gyoza broke in late January, and that according to the Ministry of Heath, Labour and Welfare that the average monthly wage had fallen to 330,212 yen in 2007.

We have not yet seen household spending data for January in order to compare it to supermarket spending, though since those numbers are due out within the next week, it will be interesting to see how households spent on food in January.

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