On the 2nd, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings announced its consolidated financial results for the first quarter (April-June). Sales were 303.19 billion yen (up 4.4% year-on-year), operating profit was 10.577 billion yen (up 53.2%), ordinary profit was 11.521 billion yen (up 7.9%), and net profit was 6.76 billion yen (up 11.4%), demonstrating better profitability than initially expected.

Sales for the department store business as a whole were 274.719 billion yen (up 4.6%), and operating profit was 7.173 billion yen (up 47.8%), thanks to successful structural reforms in purchasing and expenses.

In terms of sales by store, Isetan Shinjuku Flagship Store increased 109% year-on-year, Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Flagship Store increased 103.9%, and Mitsukoshi Ginza Store increased 108.7%. As a result of the continued strong performance of flagship stores, the company has revised its full-year earnings forecast upward to sales of 1.29 trillion yen (up 4.3%), operating profit of 32.5 billion yen (up 22.0%), ordinary profit of 35.5 billion yen (up 3.7%), and net profit of 23.5 billion yen (down 7.1%).

Meanwhile, Mitsukoshi Isetan's preliminary July sales figures, released on the 1st, showed a 1.6% increase compared to the same period last year. While this was not as strong as the growth in May and June, it marked the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year growth. Cumulative sales from April to July were up 4.2% year-on-year.

In terms of sales by store, Isetan Shinjuku Main Store recorded a 6.9% increase, Mitsukoshi Nihombashi Main Store recorded a 2.8% decrease, and Mitsukoshi Ginza Store recorded a 7.0% increase. Other stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area, such as Isetan Tachikawa and Isetan Matsudo, were slightly below the previous year, but the two flagship stores, Isetan Shinjuku Main Store and Mitsukoshi Ginza Store, drove overall sales. Meanwhile, sales at domestic group department stores were down year-on-year at all stores except for Hiroshima Mitsukoshi, which increased by 1.0%, and were generally poor.