In June, retail sales in the EU and Japan both showed a recovery trend, with varying degrees of recovery. The EU apparel market is recovering strongly, while the Japanese market is slow.

　　◆EU market

　　 Since June, the EU has restarted the movement of people and encouraged people from all countries to travel within the EU, which has further promoted the tourism-related catering and retail industries. The recovery of retail sales is a signal of a V-shaped recovery in the EU economy. According to Eurostat data, in June, EU merchandise retail sales increased by 5.3% year-on-year and 1.2% month-on-month. Among them, textiles, clothing, footwear and automotive fuel performed best. In May, the EU textile, apparel and footwear retail sales increased by 31.7% year-on-year and 48.3% month-on-month. It is expected that retail sales will continue to pick up in the next few months. With the recovery of physical retail, the momentum of online shopping has weakened, with retail sales increasing by 17.1% year-on-year and down 2.6% month-on-month.

　　 Although the data continues to improve, there are still hidden worries behind it. In the short term, with the increase in household savings and the relaxation of epidemic prevention measures, consumers will gradually release their suppressed demand. However, the situation of rising unemployment and stagnant consumer confidence is expected to continue for a long time, and it is still difficult to determine whether consumers' subsequent consumption motivation is sufficient.

　　◆Japanese market

　　 The Ministry of Finance of Japan recently released a quick report on statistical data for June. The retail sales of apparel and accessories reached 718.8 billion yen, a year-on-year decrease of 12% and a month-on-month increase of 15.4%, and a substantial month-on-month increase for two consecutive months. Compared with the same period in 2019, it is still down by 23%, which is a considerable gap from the pre-epidemic level. Although the whole country is showing a trend of recovery, the Tokyo metropolitan area and Osaka have been recovering slowly due to the prolonged state of emergency. The department store retail industry continues to cool down, and difficulties will continue...

　　◆Clothing specialty store

　　The number of customers in the clothing store has clearly picked up. Uniqlo (including online channels) retail sales increased by 0.1% year-on-year. Since July last year, Uniqlo's sales have slightly exceeded the level of 2019. But the main sales force is concentrated on indoor consumption items such as underwear and home clothes. Part of the midsummer single product sales were strong, but compared with the substantial increase in sales in the same month last year, it was still down by 1.2%.

　　 UNITED ARROWS (including online channels) retail sales remained flat year-on-year. Sales in Tokyo and Osaka have fallen by about 30% compared to 2019, but sales in other regions have recovered by 10% to 20%. Approximately 300 stores have shortened their business hours, and sales of all stores have shown a trend of slowing down, down 11.3% compared with 2019.

　　◆Department store

　　 In June, the retail sales of clothing and apparel in department stores reached 163.6 billion yen, an increase of 61.3% month-on-month and a year-on-year decrease of 8%. Among them, men's clothing decreased by 17% year-on-year and women's clothing decreased by 9.4%. As the opportunities for going to work and going out have increased over the previous year, dresses and tops are selling well, and party dresses and formal wear have also picked up.

Sales at Mitsukoshi Isetan’s major department stores increased by 17%, Hankyu Hanshin Department Store increased by 12%, Takashimaya and Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores increased by 8%, and SOGO·Seibu’s sales increased by 5%. . Compared with 2019, Mitsukoshi Isetan and Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores decreased by 20%, Hankyu Hanshin Department Store, SOGO·Seibu Department Stores decreased by 15%, and Takashimaya Department Stores decreased by 14%.