Uniqlo monthly sales are weak again as weather stays warm

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Dec 4, 2018

It’s not been a great autumn season for Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo chain. The retailer released its November Japan sales report on Tuesday and it was a similar picture to October with sales down again.

November same-store sales, including its online turnover, fell a significant 4.3% while its total sales figure was down a slightly worse 4.4%.

The company blamed the same problem that has been denting sales for rival chains in recent months - persistently warm weather. Coming at a time when the stores are full of outerwear and knits, it’s no surprise that the company said demand for winter clothing had been dented.

But while November was weak, at least it wasn’t quite as bad as the previous month when same-store and total sales dropped a disastrous 10% with even online unable to boost the figure. The company had said that October temperatures had been higher than expected and this depressed store footfall as well as apparently dampening online demand too. 

But customer numbers appeared to hold up better during November with a marginal rise compared to the year to date.

So is there any uplift on the horizon for sales? Perhaps. Average November temperatures in Tokyo range from nine to 17 degrees, while December temperatures are between four and 12 degrees. Today, Tokyo is basking in a mild 20 degrees and  tomorrow doesn’t look much different. But a change is expected by the weekend with significantly lower temperatures that could make consumers feel more inclined to think of cold weather clothing.