Japan Dept. Store Sales Up for 3rd Month in Oct.

(Typo in 3rd para corrected) Tokyo, Nov. 26 (Jiji Press)–Department store sales in Japan in October rose 4.3 pct from a year earlier on a same-store basis thanks to strong inbound travel demand, extending their winning streak to three months, according to the Japan Department Stores Association. Overall sales came to 466.8 billion yen. Sales of tax-free items, available only for foreign visitors, jumped 7.5 pct to a fresh October high of 54.6 billion yen, snapping their seven-month losing streak. The number of purchasers of such items increased 8.9 pct to 564,000, also an October high. The National Day “Golden Week” in China, as well as a weak yen, helped drive up sales of tax-free goods, particularly luxury brand bags and cosmetics, people familiar with the matter said. The association also said that sales at 42 major domestic stores were up 2.3 pct year on year as of Nov. 18, suggesting that there were not yet visible effects of the Chinese government’s call on its citizens to refrain from visiting Japan following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remark on a Taiwan contingency. “We will closely watch (the fallout from the Takaichi remark),” its Managing Director Yoshiharu Nishisaka said at a press conference Tuesday. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]