TOKYO — A chillier than usual October led to higher sales for retailers in Japan, cancelling out the impact of typhoons and an unfavorable calendar effect.
Fast Retailing said Thursday that same-store sales among its Uniqlo stores in Japan rose 8.9 percent year-on-year last month. Customer numbers were up by 5 percent, and the average purchase per customer grew by 3.8 percent.
“Same-store sales rose in October, with winter ranges selling well across the board during the consistently cold month,” the company said in a release.
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, Japan’s largest department store operator, said that October same-store sales from its nine stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area increased by 0.6 percent on the year. The biggest growth came from the Mitsukoshi Ginza store, where sales were up 13.1 percent. This was followed by the Isetan flagship store in Tokyo’s Shinjuku area, which posted sales growth of 4.2 percent.
Related Galleries
Sales among Takashimaya’s 17 department stores in Japan grew 2.1 percent over the same month last year, despite a large drop of 33.6 percent at its store in Tachikawa, a western suburb of Tokyo.
“Despite having one fewer Saturday than last year and the effects of typhoons, October sales increased over the previous year thanks to expanding sales of big-ticket items and duty-free sales. We also saw movement of cold weather items including coats, leading to the third consecutive month of sales increases,” Takashimaya said in a release.
H2O Retailing, which operates the Hankyu and Hanshin chains of department stores, said sales of those stores in Japan were up by 3.6 percent on the year last month. October marked the eleventh straight month of sales growth for the retailer.
It said that customer reaction to autumn and winter trends in both women’s clothing and cosmetics had been positive, and that watches and jewelry had sold well among both domestic customers and inbound tourists from overseas.
The 17 Daimaru and Matsuzakaya department stores in Japan, operated by J. Front Retailing, saw October sales increase by 0.9 percent year-on-year. The retailer got a big boost from its Daimaru store in Osaka’s Shinsaibashi district, where sales were up 22.9 percent over the same month last year.
“In spite of negative effects from two separate typhoons, many rainy days, and one fewer Saturday than last year, falling temperatures led to vigorous sales of both women’s and men’s coats, and cosmetics, luxury brand goods and jewelry performed favorably, leading to the seventh consecutive month of increased sales,” J. Front said in a release.