Japan's department stores extend their growth streak to seven months as jewellery and duty-free sales accelerate
Japan's department stores grew 5.1 percent nationwide in July, a seventh straight month of gains, according to the Japan Department Stores Association — with inbound duty-free sales up 25.5 percent and jewellery and watches leading every category, a concentration of strength that Japan's move to a refund-after-departure duty-free system this November is about to test.
Japan's department stores posted a store-count-adjusted 5.1 percent rise in nationwide sales for July, extending their run of year-on-year growth to a seventh straight month, the Japan Department Stores Association (JDSA) said in its monthly release on 25 August. Total sales came to ¥488.9 billion, with growth accelerating 2.8 percentage points from June's reading, the association said.