What: Three major Japanese department store operators saw their sales in the March-November 2020 period drop 30% to 40% year-on-year.

Why it  is important: retailers, and especially department stores, have been hit hard by the covid-19 crisis and many of them are facing serious losses.

The declines in sales are due to both the closure of stores at the peak of the pandemic, and the significant decrease of tourists and foreign travellers in Japan. For the first three quarters of the current business year, operating loss totalled JPY 10.5 billion at Takashimaya Co., JPY 7.0 billion at Sogo & Seibu and JPY 3.2 billion at Matsuya Co.

J. Front Retaining Co., which operates Daimaru and Matsuzakaya stores, however secured an operating profit of JPY 1.8 billion in the period, helped by cost-cutting efforts and steady real estate business.

Four major Japanese department stores suffer sales drops of 30%-40%