Apparel sales at Japanese department and chain stores decreased across the board in April 2020 compared to the same month of last year.
According to the Japan Department Stores Association, total nationwide sales in April (73 firms, 203 stores) dropped 72.8% on a same-store basis from the same month of last year to 120,894 million yen, which is the sharpest decrease registered since statistics began to be taken in January 1965. Apparel sales (including fashion accessories) fell 82.7% to 24,009 million yen: women’s wear, 11,345 million yen (down 87.0%); men’s wear, 4,621 million wear (down 84.5%); children’s wear, 5,505 million yen (down 58.5%); and other garments, 2,538 million yen (down 69.6%).
Shoppers sharply decreased by almost 80% due to temporary closures and shorter shopping hours as a result of the government’s coronavirus emergency declaration.
The Japan Chain Stores Association reported that April sales (56 firms, 10,770 stores) decreased by 4.5% on a same-store basis to 1,016,250 million yen.
Apparel sales dropped 53.7% to 37,574 million yen: women’s wear, 8,514 million yen (down 59.6%); men’s wear, 5,645 million yen (down 61.2%); and other garments, 23,415 million yen (down 48.6%). Meanwhile, groceries posted a 9.5% growth to 746,071 million yen.
