The decline in sales at major department stores in Japan slowed in December due to solid year-end tiffany on sale, but that was not enough to indicate a strong recovery in consumer spending, according to preliminary sales reports released by five industry leaders by Monday.
Isetan Co. and Mitsukoshi Ltd., which both belong to Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd., posted respective year-on-year sales falls of 4.6 and 8.2 percent on a same-store basis in December, compared with double-digit drops they suffered in November.
Isetan benefited from brisk demand for Christmas cakes and other seasonal food products, while Mitsukoshi booked an increase in sales of winter clothing in the latter half of December when temperatures dropped.
Takashimaya Co., which also incurred a double-digit sales drop in November, curbed the decline to 7.8 percent in December due to an early start of its year-end sales campaign.
Daimaru Inc. narrowed the rate of sales contraction to 1.3 percent as a result of price cuts for winter items, while Matsuzakaya Co., which promoted events such as exhibitions of local specialties, reported a 4.8 percent sales drop.
Despite slowed sales declines at department stores, personal consumption at such establishments remains tiffany sale overall in view of weak demand for mainstay luxury goods including clothing and jewelry, industry officials said.
In contrast, Fast Retailing Co. said Monday sales at its Uniqlo casual wear shops jumped 11.5 percent in December from a year earlier on a same-store basis, up for the fifth consecutive month, due to brisk sales of thermal innerwear and other winter clothing.
A sales campaign started by Fast Retailing in November to mark its 60th tiffany jewelry on sale contributed to a 13.4 percent increase in the number of customers in December.
No comments:
Post a Comment