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LEAD: Japan's FY 2005 department store sales up for 1st time in 9 years+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, April 24_(Kyodo) _ (EDS: RECASTING WITH RELEASE OF DEPARTMENT STORE SALES FIGURES) Sales at department stores in Japan rose for the first time in nine years in fiscal 2005, up 0.7 percent from a year earlier to 7,850.94 billion yen, backed by a pickup in the country's economy, an industry group said Monday. The Japan Department Stores Association said strong sales of clothing helped to lift the overall sales figures, adding a 5.9 percent year-on-year increase in Nagoya department stores was noteworthy. "Nagoya department stores enjoyed brisk sales due to positive effects from the expo," an association official said, referring to the popularity of the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture, which ended in late September. But sales at Tokyo department stores, which accounted for 24.3 percent of the total sales in the year through March 31, were unchanged from fiscal 2004 at 1,910.89 billion yen. Overall sales of clothing, a major merchandise category for department stores, saw a 0.9 percent rise to 3,019.43 billion yen, with sales of women's clothing increasing 1.9 percent and those of men's growing 1.6 percent. In March, sales at nationwide departments rose for the second straight month, up 2.0 percent to 683.63 billion yen, compared with 1.3 percent in February, on improving consumer confidence. In contrast, sales at supermarkets in fiscal 2005 fell 2 percent from a year earlier to 14,148.22 billion yen for a ninth yearly decline. The Japan Chain Stores Association said March sales at 8,733 outlets run by its 88 member supermarket operators totaled 1,123.43 billion yen, down 2.1 percent for a third straight monthly decline. The association attributed the continual fall mainly to a slump in market prices of all sorts of vegetables and other agricultural products, including strawberries, bananas, apples and citrus fruits. In the reporting month, sales of food products at supermarkets, the biggest commodity category at such retailers, fell 2.2 percent to 673.69 billion yen, while those of clothing slipped 0.3 percent to 143.62 billion yen. |