TOKYO: Department store sales in Japan were up 6.3 percent on yearly basis in May, up for the second consecutive month, local media reported here the other day.
Sales at 239 stores run by 82 companies totaled 488.6 billion yen (3.97 billion U.S. dollars) in the reporting period, the Japan Department Stores Association said, adding the consumption is turning around after a long-time slump following the sales tax hike in April 2014.
In May 2014, department store sales fell 4.2 percent from the previous year.
The association also attributed the rise in sales to an increase in foreign tourists, especially from China, South Korea and Thailand.
Sales to foreign tourists more than tripled from a year earlier to around 16.09 billion yen (130.72 million U.S. dollars), including the purchase of items that were added to Japan’s list of duty-free goods last October.
