Local News

The Kyushu Bureau of Economy, Trade, and Industry released its statistics for large retail stores in the region in 2009. Sales at the stores, which include 26 department stores and 378 supermarkets, dropped 5.4% from the year before to 1.5373 trillion yen. This was the 10th consecutive annual sales decline for outlets in this category. The results were attributed to consumer economization during the economic downturn, lower unit prices, and fewer items being purchased during each shopping trip.