Fast Retailing Co., the casual-clothing retailer known for its Uniqlo brand, said Tuesday sales in June dropped 33 percent from a year earlier on a same-store basis.
The pace of decline, however, slowed by about 10 percentage points from April and May, indicating the start of a recovery, the company said.
Sales were down for the ninth consecutive month.
Fast Retailing, which does not release actual sales figures, made the year-on-year sales comparison using data from 368 outlets.
Sales at all 558 outlets under Fast Retailing's direct management decreased 24.8 percent, marking the seventh straight month of year-on-year contraction, but the margin of decrease was also down by about 10 percentage points from April and May, the company said.
The company, which suffered its steepest percentage falls in sales on both a same-store and all-store basis in May, said sales and the number of visitors to outlets improved somewhat in June due to the smooth launch of its "Dry" summer sales campaign.