Sales at Japan’s major department stores and...
Sales at Japan’s major department stores and supermarkets rose 3.8% in October from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. The rise indicates that Japanese consumers were undaunted by last month’s stock market crash, economists said. In September, sales were up 6.9%.
Department store sales in October climbed 6% from a year earlier, while supermarket sales increased 1.3%. The statistics cover 368 department stores and 1,964 supermarkets.
“As yet there has been no indications consumer and business confidence has been adversely affected,” said David Pike, economist for UBS/Phillips & Drew International Ltd.
Sales are expected to grow at about the same pace in the coming months, a ministry official said.
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