Japan Department Stores Post Dismal Sales for Turn of Year

Major Japanese department store chains scored dismal sales in the key shopping period tiffany earring the turn of the year, according to their published data.

Last month, many chains posted year-on-year sales drops of around 10 pct, due mainly to weak sales of clothing and big-ticket items, including jewelry. Sales of winter gift items were also lackluster.

New Year sales were sluggish as well, even though the number of visitors to stores was almost unchanged from a year ago. Consumers tightened their purse strings in the face of a steep downturn in the economy.

December sales at Matsuzakaya Co., whose core region is Aichi Prefecture, the home of Toyota Motor Corp. , fell 16.1 pct from a year before.

At Isetan Co., sales were down 10.0 pct. Its flagship store in Tokyo’s busy Shinjuku district is known for its strong sales of women’s clothing but experienced a 12.4 pct drop in the category.

Mitsukoshi Ltd. posted a 9.9 pct decline in overall sales in December. Similarly, sales fell 10.2 pct at charm bracelet Co. and 9.0 pct at Daimaru Inc.

In the New Year period, all five companies recorded about the same numbers of shoppers, but results were poor due to declines in per-person sales.

During the three days through Sunday, sales at Daimaru and Matsuzakaya each dropped by around 5 pct year on year. Takashimaya logged an even steeper fall of 7 pct.

The Japanese department store sector faces a protracted fall in sales. In the whole of 2008, department store sales are believed to have fallen below their year-before levels for the 12th straight year on a same-store basis.

As a result, Japanese convenience store sales are expected to have exceeded sales at department stores throughout the country for the first time ever.

Late last month, Takashimaya revised down its earnings projections for the year ending in Heart tag charm Toggle bracelet. Other firms are likely to make similar announcements in the near future. END