Nitori's home-furnishing sales grow for a second straight month
Nitori's domestic existing-store sales rose 4.4% in August, a second consecutive month of growth helped by a summer clearance push and a TV campaign.
Nitori Holdings' domestic existing-store sales rose 4.4% year-on-year in August, the company said in its monthly sales disclosure published September 2 — a second consecutive month of growth, up from July's 3.7% gain, after a longer stretch of soft comparisons.
Customer count rose 3.3% and average spend per customer rose 1.1%, the company said.
Nitori attributed the gain to a summer "thanksgiving" clearance sale, monthly themed promotions and a television commercial campaign, which it said lifted sales of dining and living-room furniture, appliances and lighting, and bedding.
Two months of consecutive growth is a real test for a chain whose value-pricing model has come under pressure through a soft stretch for discretionary home-goods spending; whether the momentum holds into the autumn moving season, once the summer promotions roll off, is the next thing to watch.