According to Japan’s “Economic News”, the end of each year is the peak sales season for major department stores in Japan. However, sales at the end of 2008 were not satisfactory, with a sharp decline. This is evident from the impact of the financial crisis on Japanese consumers’ willingness to spend.
In December, sales at major department stores in Japan fell sharply by about 10%. Among them, Matsusakaya had the highest 13.7%, Takashimaya and Isetan exceeded 10%, and Mitsukoshi and Daimaru dropped 9.9% and 9.0% respectively.
According to analysis, sluggish sales at the end of the year are closely related to the decline of the real economy. For example, the largest decline in a single store was Matsusakaya in Nagoya, reaching 15.9%. This is related to the deteriorating performance of Toyota Motor, which is headquartered in the local area. In addition, clothing and high-end products that have been selling well before have also entered the forefront of the sales decline list in December.
Relatively speaking, low-priced goods are increasingly favored by consumers, and sales have risen instead of falling. UNIQUO, a Japanese clothing company with China as its main production base, saw sales in Japan rise by 10.3% in December, becoming one of the few bright spots. The company said it will significantly increase production in the coming sales season.
