According to the Japan Department Stores Association, same-store sales of apparel (including accessories) at member stores across the country (74 firms, 205 stores) dropped 39.9% compared to the same month of last year to 97,548 million yen. It was the sixth consecutive month that apparel sales decreased from the year before.
Sales were affected by government requests for refraining from going out to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which resulted in temporary store closures and shorter working hours.
Especially, the cancellation of graduation and school entry ceremonies hit garments for such occasions. For the same reason, sales of shoes, bags and other miscellaneous items for such occasions fell 38.0% to 41,683 million yen.
Sales of cosmetics sharply decreased by 41.2% to 32,036 million yen.
By item, apparel sales decreased across the board: women’s wear, 55,719 million yen (down 44.2%); men’s wear, 19,539 million yen (down 39.7%); children’s wear, 19,299 million yen (down 24.9%); and other garments, 6,992 million yen (down 27.7%).
Inbound sales dropped 85.7% to about 4,750 million yen with the number of foreign shoppers falling 93.4%.
