Japan Retail Sector: "Luxury Sector: end-June price index shows Japan at..."

Research evidence excerpt

Japan Retail Sector: "Luxury Sector: end-June price index shows Japan at..."

uxurybrandpriceindexinternationalcomparison(France=10)). However, compared to

107 in the same month of the previous year, Japan’s relative affordability is continuing

(Figure 7Japanluxurybrandpriceindextrend(France=10)). Furthermore, setting China at 100 as the baseline, the index score for Japan

comes to 80, indicating that affordability has increased further from 83 at the end of

May. Since the price index does not factor in tax refunds, inbound foreign visitors can

purchase luxury goods at even lower effective prices by utilising tax refund benefits.

Figure 9Monthlyconsumptiontax-fresalesatthefourmain department store operators shows the monthly tax-free sales trends for the four major department store

groups including Mitsukoshi Isetan Holdings (3099, not covered), H2O Retailing (8242,

not covered), Takashimaya (8233, not covered), and J. Front Retailing (3086, not

covered), while Figure 10Consumptiontax-fresalesperdayatthefourmaindepartment store operators shows the average daily tax-free sales for these four

companies (based on simple averages of business days). In June, daily tax-free sales for

the four major department stores exceeded those of the same month in the previous

year, but they have generally been steady at the same level since October 2025.

Our view

We believe that, based on the trends in the luxury brand price index, the relative

affordability of prices in Japan from a global perspective may have contributed to the

strong tax-free sales at department stores by foreign visitors and the high demand for

luxury brands among Japanese consumers. Therefore, if Japan’s price advantage

continues, demand for purchasing luxury brands in Japan could remain firm hereafter.