Nitori's September sales rise for a third straight month, carried by more shoppers
Nitori's domestic existing-store sales rose 2.3% in September, a third straight month of growth, as more customers came through the doors even though each spent a little less.
Nitori Holdings' domestic existing-store sales rose 2.3% year-on-year in September, according to the company's monthly sales figures for its core Nitori chain — a third consecutive month of growth, after gains of 3.7% in July and 4.4% in August. Sales across all stores, including new openings, rose 4.7%.
The growth came from traffic rather than ticket size. Existing-store customer numbers rose 4.1%, while average spend per customer fell 1.8%. The figures include online sales, and the company said the calendar cost existing stores 0.2 percentage points against last year.
Nitori credited its autumn "thanksgiving" sale, monthly themed promotions and television advertising, which it said lifted sales of living-room and bedroom furniture, kitchenware, and bedding.
For the first half of the fiscal year, April through September, existing-store sales were flat at 100.0% of last year's level and all-store sales were up 2.7%. The Nitori chain's domestic store count held at 792. Across the group, the company listed two N+ openings inside Shimachu Homes stores in Kawasaki Daishi and Kasai and one N+ closure at AEON Mall Kyoto Katsuragawa. Overseas it opened stores in Hong Kong's Tsing Yi and in Nanjing and closed one in Taipei, ending September with 215 stores outside Japan.
The mix is the thing to watch. Three months of growth built on more visitors and slightly smaller baskets suggests Nitori's promotions are pulling people in without trading them up — the pattern you would expect from a value retailer while shoppers watch what they spend. The October figures, due on November 4, will show whether the run holds once the autumn sale rolls off.