On the 1st, five major department stores announced their April sales figures. Three companies—Mitsukoshi Isetan Holdings, J. Front Retailing, and H2O Retailing—outperformed the previous year. Takashimaya and Sogo & Seibu saw year-on-year declines. Each store saw sales growth in high-priced items like jewelry and brand-name goods, driven by a favorable economic climate. However, a calendar with one fewer Sunday and holiday, along with sluggish sales of spring apparel due to unfavorable weather, impacted sales. Differences in customer attraction led the way. Mitsukoshi Isetan Holdings' Isetan Shinjuku flagship store, which remodeled and reopened in March, saw an 8.7% increase, driving overall sales. Other stores also performed well, resulting in a 3% increase for Mitsukoshi Isetan overall. By product category, spring and early summer fashion, including women's clothing and accessories, saw strong sales, while high-priced items like jewelry and watches also performed well. These contributed significantly to sales. J. Front Retailing's Matsuzakaya Ginza store, which closed on June 30th, saw a 65.3% increase in store sales thanks to clearance sales. The Daimaru Tokyo store, which expanded in October last year, also saw a significant increase of 29.5%. Meanwhile, in the Kansai region, where other companies continued to expand, the Daimaru Shinsaibashi store struggled somewhat, with a 4.9% decrease and the Daimaru Umeda store a 7.8% decrease. Daimaru Matsuzakaya department stores combined increased 4.8%, and the department store business as a whole increased 4%. H2O Retailing's Hankyu Main Store, which opened its second building in October last year and had its grand opening in November of the same year, performed well, with a 56% increase. The Hankyu Umeda Main Store alone saw a 71.4% increase, continuing its outstanding performance. Conversely, the Hanshin Main Store performed poorly, with a 19.6% decrease. Nevertheless, sales for the entire company increased by 10.3%, marking the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year increases.

Takashimaya saw a 0.9% decrease at its 14 standalone stores and a 0.5% decrease at its 18 stores, including domestic department store subsidiaries. Select clothing and accessories and jewelry saw double-digit increases, and kimono and living goods also saw increases compared to the previous year, but sluggish sales of spring clothing had a significant impact.

Sogo & Seibu saw a 2.3% decrease across all stores. Its flagship store, Seibu Department Store Ikebukuro, was roughly flat at 0.1% increase, while Sogo Yokohama performed well with a 1.3% increase, but the weather and one fewer Sunday and public holiday contributed to lower sales. Meanwhile, positive factors were also evident, such as a 2.3x increase in sales of in-house developed products.