Japanese chain stores have kicked off 2021 on a negative note as the sales from apparel category have fallen 20.10 per cent in January on Y-o-Y basis.

The data of 10,997 stores of 56 companies associated with Japan Chain Stores Association (JCSA) showed the revenues clocked were 59,288.98 million yen in January ’21, which valued 74,204 million yen in January ’20.

Menswear clocked 11,002.90 million yen revenues during January ’21, which is a significant fall of 26.40 per cent on Y-o-Y basis! The revenues were down on M-o-M basis too as there was a 20.70 per cent decline noted in January as compared to December ’20.

Womenswear revenues valued 14,559.98 million yen in January with a drastic fall of 29.40 per cent on Y-o-Y basis. However, M-o-M decline was not huge as the sales of women clothing in Japanese chain stores dropped by 14.80 per cent as compared to December ’20.

All other types of clothing, including kidswear, saw better results on Y-o-Y basis to clock 33,726.23 million yen, yet declined by 12.60 per cent; however the drop was discouraging for the retailers as compared to December ’20 as a huge 31.80 per cent drop was recorded on monthly note.