Japanese supermarket sales down 10 years running

According to data recently released by the Japan Chain Store Association, aggregate sales at Japan's supermarkets were down 2.7% in 2006 vs. 2005. This was the tenth year in a row that revenues dropped.

The worsened performance was largely due to falling sales for non-food items such as clothing, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, furniture and electronics. Food revenues were off just 0.7% versus the previous year while sales from clothing—the second largest category at Japanese supermarkets—fell by 4.6% because of unusual weather patterns.

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