Combined wholesale and retail sales fell 2.2 percent in fiscal 2002 from the previous year to 581.37 trillion yen, logging a second consecutive year of decline and underscoring the continued deflationary trend, the government said Monday.
Sales by wholesalers dropped 2 percent to 451.038 trillion yen, down for the second year in a row, while retail sales fell 2.9 percent to 130.332 trillion yen for the sixth consecutive year of decline, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report.
Sales by large retailers like supermarkets and department stores fell 0.8 percent to 22.04 trillion yen, with supermarket sales expanding 0.6 percent to 12.723 trillion yen and department store sales decreasing 2.7 percent to 9.317 trillion yen.
Convenience store sales grew 2.1 percent to 7.028 trillion yen.