Japan's duty-free sales fall further as China tensions linger
Duty-free sales at Japan’s top department stores fell again in January, highlighting the prolonged pain for the country’s retail industry as tensions between Tokyo and Beijing show no sign of easing.
Takashimaya reported a 19% drop in duty-free sales, citing Beijing’s travel advisory discouraging visits to Japan, though same-store sales rose 7.4%. J Front Retailing said tax-free sales at its Daimaru and Matsuzakaya stores declined about 17%, limiting overall sales growth to 0.7%.
Sales from Chinese customers plunged about 60% due to the absence of Chinese tourists in January, weighing on H2O Retailing’s overall sales growth, which came in at 4.2%. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings reported duty-free sales across its domestic stores fell 15% in December, dragging down the total sales growth to 2.1%. Matsuya reported a roughly 16% drop at its flagship Ginza store last month, also citing the lack of Chinese customers.
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