Local News

Summer clearance sales began at department stores in Kyushu last week, and the combination of the end of the rainy season, the weekend, and the first payment of summer bonuses resulted in a brisk turnout of shoppers. Sales during the first week at Iwata-ya in the Tenjin district of Fukuoka City were 5% above the same period last year, while those at Hakata Daimaru and Mitsukoshi were 2% above year-before totals. One exception to the upturn was the 3% year-on-year decline in sales for Izutsu-ya in Kitakyushu. Store officials said other commercial enterprises began their sales earlier this year, which depressed their totals.