Komehyo opened the year ending March 2027 with the same combination that has kept its brand-fashion business moving fast: strong intake, plenty of stock to sell, and retail demand that management says is running ahead of plan. May sales in the segment came to ¥21.545bn, after ¥21.409bn in April, and the company said results were tracking above plan as it used strong personal purchases and a rich inventory base to merchandise against domestic and overseas demand.
| Metric | April | May |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | ¥21.409bn | ¥21.545bn |
| Sales, prior-year month ratio | 151.5% | 150.5% |
| Retail ratio | 45.3% | 45.8% |
| Tax-free sales ratio | 17.9% | 17.3% |
| Individual purchase amount | ¥10.953bn | ¥10.191bn |
| Purchases, prior-year month ratio | 136.1% | 144.2% |
Just as important for a reseller, supply did not cool. Individual purchases totaled ¥10.191bn in May, following ¥10.953bn in April, which left Komehyo above the ¥10bn mark for a second straight month. The company said purchasing campaigns and the effect of new store openings helped keep intake at that level.
On the source's year-on-year ratio basis, May sales were 150.5% of the prior-year month, only slightly below April's 151.5%. Individual purchases were 144.2% of the prior-year month, faster than April's 136.1%. Retail remained a larger share of the mix than a year earlier: 45.8% of May sales versus 42.0% a year earlier, and slightly above April's 45.3%.
Inbound-linked demand still mattered, but it was not the whole story. The tax-free sales ratio eased to 17.3% in May from 17.9% in April, suggesting the month's strength rested on more than tax-free spending alone. Komehyo also added seven stores in May: three domestic buy-and-sell outlets, including flagship stores, two domestic franchise purchasing-only stores, one buy-and-sell store in Hong Kong and one sales store in Singapore.
The sourcing backdrop looked solid rather than frothy. Komehyo said May corporate auction conditions were firm for jewelry, helped by steady demand for branded pieces despite softer gold prices. Watches were slightly weak around popular models, while bags were stable, partly because major brands had revised prices. As with most monthly updates, the figures are preliminary and unaudited, and the company says overseas subsidiaries use a December year-end, so monthly aggregation, foreign-exchange effects and consolidation treatment can create differences versus full-period reported numbers.