Nishimatsuya Chain's October same-store sales came in at 94.4% of the prior year, and total-store sales at 96.9%, according to the company's preliminary monthly sales update. The total-store figure covers existing stores, new stores and online sales.
The company's explanation
Nishimatsuya said temperatures ran higher than usual in the latter part of the period, and winter apparel sales fell below the prior year as a result. That is the issuer's own account, and the update gives no weather data or category-level sales figures to test it. The company's figures are indices against the prior year, so 100 would mean flat sales.
Customers, not spending
Same-store customer numbers were 93.7% of the prior year, while spend per customer was 100.7%. For all stores, customers were 96.8% and spend per customer 100.1%.
The month reverses September, when same-store sales stood at 112.4% and total-store sales at 115.2%. Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage
Store count
The chain opened four stores and closed six in the month, ending with 1,191 stores. Openings for the current fiscal year total 36 and closures 26.
Nishimatsuya notes that the figures are preliminary and may change slightly. One retailer's month says little about the wider consumer economy, and this update is a single company's read on seasonal demand.