Improvement in gross profit margin due to a lower markdown rate

「In terms of profitability, amid the continuing upward pressure on costs from the weaker yen and higher manufacturing costs, the company worked to control inventory through the provision of products at the right time, at the right price and in the right quantities, and to curb discount sales. A review of the production structure and strong full-price sales of spring/summer apparel drove a recovery in the gross margin, which improved from the year-earlier period in the apparel and miscellaneous goods-related business.」

「26年3〜5月期決算が順調で、粗利率（売上高総利益率）は57.9%と前年同期比1.3ポイント改善しました。」

「Meanwhile, full-price sales fell short of expectations because of the impact of weather throughout the year, causing the gross margin of the apparel and general merchandise business to decline from the previous year. In Other (the food-service business), the gross margin also declined because the Company was unable to fully absorb soaring food and other input costs despite efforts to review product prices and reduce costs. As a result, the consolidated gross margin was 54.6%, down 0.1 percentage point year on year.」

「In terms of profitability, despite the continuing impact of the weaker yen, the company worked to control inventory through the provision of products at the right time, at the right price and in the right quantities, curb discount sales and expand highly profitable new businesses. However, because full-price sales of spring/summer apparel fell short of expectations, the company prioritised clearing inventory, causing the gross margin in the apparel and miscellaneous goods-related business to deteriorate from the year-earlier period. In Other (the food and beverage business), the company reviewed product prices and worked to reduce costs, but was unable to fully absorb soaring costs. The gross margin therefore declined, and the consolidated gross margin fell 0.5 percentage points year on year to 55.2%.」

「In terms of profitability, the company worked to improve the gross margin by controlling inventory through the provision of products at the right time, at the right price and in the right quantities, curbing discount sales, increasing product value added and reviewing product prices. However, the gross margin in the apparel and miscellaneous goods-related business declined from the year-earlier period due to higher costs resulting from the weaker yen, inventory write-downs following weak autumn merchandise sales, and downward pressure from the higher proportion of the B2B business, including the wholesale business. In Other (the food and beverage business), the company also worked to review product prices and reduce costs, but the gross margin declined as these measures failed to fully absorb higher costs. The consolidated gross margin consequently fell 0.6 percentage points year on year to 54.7%.」

「In terms of earnings, the Company continued to control inventory and restrain discount sales by providing products at the right time, at the right price and in the right quantities, pursued higher value-added products and reviewed product prices, seeking to improve the gross profit margin. However, due to the weaker yen and the downward pressure from the increased proportion of the B2B business, including the wholesale business, the gross profit margin in the apparel and miscellaneous goods-related business declined from the same period of the previous year.」

「In terms of profitability, although the Company continued inventory control and efforts to restrain discount sales through the provision of products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities, pursued higher value-added products and reviewed prices, the gross margin of the apparel and general merchandise business declined from the previous year because the higher proportion of the BtoB business, including wholesale, had a downward impact, despite the efforts to improve the gross margin. In Other (the food-service business), the gross margin improved slightly through price reviews and cost-reduction efforts, but the consolidated gross margin deteriorated 0.9 percentage points year on year to 56.2%.」

「In terms of profitability, despite the continued effects of higher costs caused by the weaker yen, the Company worked to improve profitability through inventory control and efforts to restrain discount sales by providing products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities, pursuing higher value-added products, reviewing prices while considering the balance with product value, and reducing manufacturing costs by shifting production locations to ASEAN.」

「In terms of profitability, although the effects of higher costs caused by the weaker yen continued, the Company worked to improve profitability through inventory control and efforts to restrain discount sales by providing products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities, pursuing higher value-added products, reviewing prices while considering the balance with product value, and reducing manufacturing costs by shifting production locations to ASEAN. The gross margin of the apparel and general merchandise business improved, helped by the one-time expiry of loyalty points following changes to the Company's points program and improved profitability in its overseas business. In Other (the food-service business), the gross margin declined partly because of higher costs, but the consolidated gross margin improved 0.3 percentage points year on year to 56.7%.」

「In terms of profitability, although the effects of higher costs caused by the weaker yen continued, the Company worked to improve profitability through inventory control and efforts to restrain discount sales by providing products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities, pursuing higher value-added products, and reviewing prices while considering the balance with product value. The gross margin of the apparel and general merchandise business improved, helped by the one-time expiry of loyalty points following changes to the Company's points program and improved profitability in its overseas business. In Other (the food-service business), the gross margin declined partly because of higher costs, but the consolidated gross margin improved 0.5 percentage points year on year to 56.3%.」

「In terms of profitability, the effects of the weaker yen and higher raw-material prices continued. The Company controlled inventory and restrained discount sales through the provision of products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities, pursued higher value-added products, reviewed product prices while considering the balance with product value, and improved profitability in its overseas business. However, the gross margin of the apparel and general merchandise business deteriorated slightly from the previous year. The gross margin also declined in Other (the food-service business), partly because of higher costs, resulting in a consolidated gross margin of 57.1%, down 0.3 percentage points year on year.」

「In terms of profitability, although the effects of the weaker yen and higher raw-material prices continued, the Company controlled inventory and restrained discount sales through the provision of products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities, pursued higher value-added products, and reviewed the prices of certain products while considering the balance with product value. As a result, the gross margin of the apparel and general merchandise business remained broadly flat year on year. In addition, the proportion of the relatively higher-margin food-service business increased following the consolidation of 株式会社ゼットン as a subsidiary, resulting in a consolidated gross margin of 56.4%, up 0.7 percentage points year on year.」

「In terms of profitability, although the effects of the weaker yen and higher raw material prices continued, the company advanced inventory control through providing products at the right time, at the right price, and in the right quantity, restrained discount sales, and enhanced the value of its products, keeping the gross profit margin in the apparel and general merchandise business broadly flat year on year. In addition, as the proportion of the food-service business increased following the consolidation of Zetton, Inc. as a subsidiary, the gross profit margin was 55.8%, up 1.0 percentage point year on year.」

「Although the business was affected by the weaker yen and higher raw material prices, the gross profit margin in the apparel and general merchandise business remained broadly unchanged from the previous year as the company advanced inventory control through providing products at the right time, at the right price, and in the right quantity, restrained discount sales, and enhanced the value of its products. In addition, as the proportion of the food-service business increased following the consolidation of Zetton, Inc. as a subsidiary, the gross profit margin was 57.4%, up 0.5 percentage points year on year.」

「In terms of profitability, inventory control and efforts to restrain discount sales were continued through the provision of products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities while responding to changing market conditions, maintaining the gross margin at 55.7%, the same level as in the previous year.」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin was 54.8% (up 1.7 percentage points year on year), as inventory control and efforts to restrain discount sales were accelerated through the provision of products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities while responding to changing market conditions, maintaining the margin above the previous year's level.」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin recovered substantially to 56.9% (up 3.7 percentage points year on year) as inventory control and efforts to restrain discount sales were accelerated through the provision of products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities while responding to changing market conditions.」

「In terms of profitability, although the Company accelerated efforts to restrain discount sales by providing products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities under the market conditions described above, the gross margin was 55.7% (down 1.4 percentage points year on year) due to the impact of accelerated inventory clearance for spring merchandise.」

「In terms of profitability, discount sales increased as inventory clearance for spring merchandise was accelerated under the market conditions described above, and the gross margin was 53.1% (down 3.1 percentage points year on year).」

「In terms of profitability, discount sales increased as inventory clearance for spring merchandise was accelerated under the market conditions described above, and the gross margin was 53.2% (down 5.2 percentage points year on year).」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin was 55.5% (up 1.6 percentage points year on year), mainly because the markdown rate improved after operations aimed at restraining discount sales were conducted steadily through the thorough provision of products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities.」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin was 57.1% (up 1.8 percentage points year on year), as operations aimed at restraining discount sales functioned steadily through the thorough provision of products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities, substantially improving the markdown rate.」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin was 56.2% (up 2.3 percentage points year on year), as operations aimed at restraining discount sales functioned steadily through the thorough provision of products at the right time, right price and in the right quantities, substantially improving the markdown rate.」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin was 58.4% (up 1.0 percentage point year on year), as the markdown rate improved after the Company thoroughly implemented the provision of products that stimulate customer demand at the right time, right price and in the right quantities.」

「We will build systems to provide products aligned with actual customer demand at the right time, at the right price and in the right quantities, while optimizing inventory levels and working to improve inventory turnover, reduce markdown rates and reduce obsolete inventory.」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin was 55.3% (down 1.2 percentage points year on year), as the effects of discount sales caused by weak sales of summer merchandise persisted.」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin was 53.9% (down 1.9 percentage points year on year), as discount sales to clear inventory increased after domestic sales struggled, as described above.」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin declined to 57.4% (down 2.0 percentage points year on year), partly because the markdown rate increased as inventory clearance was accelerated.」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin declined to 54.2% (down 2.1 percentage points year on year), mainly because inventory clearance through markdowns and disposals was accelerated for products that did not fully meet customer needs.」

「In terms of profitability, the gross margin declined to 56.5% (down 2.2 percentage points year on year), as the markdown rate increased partly because inventory clearance was accelerated.」

「The gross profit margin declined to 55.8%, down 2.1 percentage points year on year, partly because the Company prioritized accelerating inventory sell-through.」

「The gross profit margin fell to 59.4%, down 1.8 percentage points year on year, due in part to increased markdowns to accelerate the sell-through of spring merchandise.」

「Although cost reductions continued steadily, the gross profit margin declined slightly to 56.3%, down 0.3 percentage points year on year, due to increased discounted sales and the impact of inventory valuation allowances.」

「Although markdowns increased from late summer to early autumn, progress in reducing costs resulted in a gross profit margin of 58.7%, up 0.1 percentage points year on year and broadly unchanged from the previous year.」

「Although markdowns increased during this summer's sale season, continued progress in reducing costs resulted in ongoing improvement, with the gross profit margin reaching 57.9%, up 0.6 percentage points year on year.」

「On the earnings front, the gross margin improved to 61.2%, up 0.5 percentage points year on year, as the markdown rate declined on the back of solid sales.」