Sales at department stores in Japan dropped 4.5 percent in July from a year earlier to 873.73 billion yen, down for the fifth straight month, an industry group said Thursday.
The year-on-year drop in the reporting month was larger than June's 2.5 percent fall and the largest since September 1999, when sales declined 5.2 percent, the Japan Department Stores Association said in a report.
Association officials said the collapse of Sogo Co. helped keep shoppers away and depressed total sales by about 1 percent.
The group also attributed the poor performance to feeble corporate demand for summer gifts and weakened demand for clothes in the latter part of the month after a boost from summer clearance sales.
Sales of clothing, accounting for the largest portion of total sales at 36.9 percent, dropped 5.3 percent, while food sales, the second-largest at 30.8 percent, lost 4.1 percent, the association said.
The report tallied sales at 306 outlets run by 134 department stores in Japan.
Supermarkets' decline
Sales at supermarkets in Japan dropped 4.3 percent in July from a year earlier to 1.441 trillion yen for the 20th straight monthly decline, the Japan Chain Stores Association said Thursday.
No change occurred in consumers' tendency to economize and robust sales logged in the first 10 days of the month due to high temperatures proved short-lived, the association said.
The sales covered 7,115 outlets run by the 114 supermarket operators belonging to the association, it said.
Sales of foodstuffs, which accounted for 50.5 percent of total sales, fell 3.2 percent, while those of clothing, comprising 18 percent, declined 10.3 percent.
Sales in the housing-related category, which includes sundries, medical and cosmetic goods, furniture and electric appliances and accounted for 21.3 percent, dropped 4.2 percent, the association said.