Supermarket sales fell for the fifth straight year in 2001, reflecting depressed consumer spending, an industry association said Thursday.

The Japan Chain Stores Association said supermarket sales fell 5.2 percent from 2000 to 15.91 trillion yen on a same-store basis, adjusted for a change in the number of stores.

Sales remained stagnant, the industry group said, because customers are reluctant to spend due to concerns about job security and pay cuts.

Intensifying price competition, which helped cut prices, also contributed to the decline in the value of sales, it said.

Food sales, accounting for 53.2 percent of overall supermarket sales, dropped 2.5 percent to 8.459 trillion yen. Clothing sales fell 7.6 percent to 2.663 trillion yen.

Sales of daily commodities such as medical and cosmetic goods, furniture and electrical appliances were down 7.1 percent to 3.294 trillion yen.

Revenues from services such as travel businesses and ticket sales fell 1.9 percent to 154.4 billion yen.

Meanwhile, supermarket sales for December fell 5 percent from a year earlier to 1.607 trillion yen, the 37th straight month of decline.

The figures cover 6,437 outlets run by the association's 104 member store operators.

Department stores dip

Department store sales fell 0.4 percent to 8.572 trillion yen in 2001 on a same-store basis, down for the fifth straight year, the Japan Department Stores Association said Thursday.

Clothing sales, accounting for 39.9 percent of overall department store sales, came to 3.417 trillion yen, down 1 percent, it said. Food sales, representing 23.5 percent of the total, gained 0.1 percent to 2.016 trillion yen.

In December, department store sales fell 1.8 percent from a year earlier to 1.023 trillion yen after a 2.3 percent rise in November.

The association attributed the poor December sales to a continued decline in demand among large-lot customers. and a reaction to the robust sales performance the previous month ahead of the yearend gift-giving season.

The sales data cover 298 outlets run by 118 department store operators.