Fast Retailing Co., a casual-clothing retailer known for its Uniqlo brand, said Tuesday that sales in the first half of its business year through Feb. 28 dropped 26.8 percent on a same-store basis from a year earlier.
The Yamaguchi-based company compiled this data on the basis of sales at 447 outlets, where the number of customers fell 16.2 percent and sales per customer dropped 12.6 percent. The firm does not release actual sales figures.
First-half sales at 574 stores under Fast Retailing's direct management decreased 19.3 percent from a year earlier, with the number of customers falling 7.5 percent and sales per customer dropping 12.8 percent.
In February alone, sales fell 25.8 percent on a same-store basis from a year earlier, while sales at stores under direct management dropped 18.2 percent.
"Due to bad weather, spring clothing didn't sell well," a Fast Retailing official said. "We hope to make efforts to improve the number of customers."