Closing Unprofitable Stores and Improving Earnings Power per Store

「Meanwhile, as part of our response to management challenges, we will work to reduce the cost-of-sales ratio by curbing discounting measures, continue closing unprofitable stores based on profit-and-loss criteria, and formulate specific regional strategies.」

「Regarding store openings and closures, 9 stores were closed because of the closure of host locations and unprofitable operations, while 4 stores were opened as replacements and for other purposes, bringing the period-end store count to 178.」

「As the number of stores decreased by 10 from the end of the same period a year earlier because of the closure of host locations and unprofitable stores, sales at directly operated House of Rose stores declined by slightly less than 2% overall, despite increasing approximately 1% year on year on an existing-store basis, mainly through the specialty-store channel.」

「Regarding the store network, 13 stores were closed because of the closure of host locations and unprofitable operations, while 2 stores were opened as replacements and for other purposes, bringing the period-end store count to 183.」

「As the number of stores at the end of December decreased by 11 from the end of the same period a year earlier because of the closure of unprofitable stores and other factors, cumulative sales declined 2.6% year on year. On an existing-store basis, however, sales were maintained at approximately the same level as in the same period a year earlier.」

「As 2 stores were closed during the current interim period, following closures in the previous fiscal year, sales declined by slightly more than 5% year on year, but existing-store sales edged up.」

「Regarding the store network, 12 stores were closed because of the closure of host locations and unprofitable operations, while a total of 4 stores were opened, including replacement locations. The number of stores at period-end was 194. In addition, 3 urban department-store locations were renovated and converted into Be Prime stores, bringing the number of Be Prime stores at period-end to 10.」

「Regarding the store network, the number of stores at the end of December was down 6 from the end of the same period a year earlier, partly because of the closure of host locations and unprofitable stores. As a result, sales for October–December were slightly below the same period a year earlier, but existing-store sales edged up, leading management to judge that the underlying trend in sales remained solid.」

「Regarding openings and closures, 6 stores were closed because of the closure of host locations and unprofitable operations, while a total of 5 stores were opened, including replacement locations. The number of stores at period-end was 202.」

「Regarding openings and closures, a total of 9 stores were closed, including 7 because host locations shut down. Meanwhile, 5 replacement stores were opened for the closed locations, resulting in a net decrease of 4 stores from the beginning of the period and a period-end store count of 203.」

「Regarding openings and closures, 7 stores were closed, primarily because host locations such as Sogo and Seibu shut down. Meanwhile, 5 replacement stores were opened for the closed locations, bringing the number of stores at the end of the second quarter to 205, a decrease of 2 from the beginning of the period.」

「Regarding openings and closures, 2 new stores were opened, while a total of 12 stores were closed, including 6 because their host locations shut down. The number of stores at period-end was 207, a net decrease of 10 from the beginning of the period.」

「Regarding openings and closures, 2 stores were opened, while 8 stores were closed because of the closure of host locations and the closure of unprofitable stores.」

「Regarding openings and closures, 1 store was opened, while 8 stores were closed because of the closure of host locations and the closure of unprofitable stores.」

「For several years, the company has been closing unprofitable stores to improve store profitability. In addition to the number of stores at the end of the quarter being down 14 from the end of the same period a year earlier, sales of limited-time products were sluggish because of unfavorable weather and other factors. As a result, sales declined 10.0% year on year.」

「Regarding openings and closures, 16 stores were closed because of unprofitable operations and the closure of host locations, while 3 new stores were opened. As a result, the number of stores at period-end was 217.」

「Regarding openings and closures, 3 stores were opened, while 10 stores were closed because of unprofitable operations or the closure of their host locations. Sales declined 2.7% year on year as a result of the decrease in the number of stores. On an existing-store basis, department-store locations maintained approximately the same sales level as in the same period a year earlier, while specialty-store locations exceeded the prior-year period in both sales and customer traffic. Profitability also improved substantially, owing to the closure of unprofitable stores and a lower cost-of-sales ratio.」

「Regarding openings and closures, 1 store was opened, while 6 stores were closed because of unprofitable operations or the closure of their host locations. Sales declined 2.8% year on year as a result of the decrease in the number of stores, but sales on an existing-store basis were maintained at approximately the same level as in the same period a year earlier, and store profit increased.」

「For several years, the company has been closing unprofitable stores to improve store profitability. As the number of stores decreased by 12 from the same period a year earlier, sales declined 2.5% year on year and total customer traffic also decreased. However, on an existing-store basis, sales were maintained at approximately the same level as in the same period a year earlier, while total customer traffic and the number of new customers, a key issue, edged up.」

「The relaxation salon business has been working to improve operations. As it continued closing unprofitable stores and reviewing its service menu, customer traffic at existing stores began to recover. However, partly because the number of stores decreased by 3 from the same period a year earlier, sales declined 6.4% year on year.」

「In addition, to strengthen profitability per store, we continued to close unprofitable stores as in the previous fiscal year. Although we opened 2 stores by the end of the second quarter, we closed 3, resulting in a decrease of 2 stores from the end of the same period a year earlier.」

「The relaxation salon business has been closing unprofitable stores while optimizing the staffing of treatment personnel. It closed 1 store during the quarter, and the number of stores at the end of the first quarter was down 3 from the same period a year earlier. Sales declined 3.8% year on year, affected in part by lower customer traffic resulting from the decrease in the number of stores, but sales on an existing-store basis remained at approximately the same level as in the same period a year earlier.」

「Meanwhile, we continued closing unprofitable stores, as we had in the previous fiscal year, and worked comprehensively to improve profitability per store. Regarding openings and closures of company-operated stores, in addition to closing unprofitable stores, primarily specialty-store locations, we also closed stores because their host department stores shut down, for a total of 11 closures. We opened 8 stores, mainly replacement locations for the stores that were closed, in response in part to requests to open stores. As a result, the number of stores at the end of the period was 240, a net decrease of 3 from the beginning of the period.」

「As the Company closed unprofitable stores and optimized the number of sales staff, average spending per customer and sales per employee increased slightly. However, lower store numbers and the resulting decline in customer numbers contributed to a 2.8% year-on-year decrease in sales.」

「While continuing to close unprofitable stores, as in the previous fiscal year, the Company optimized the number of sales staff and strengthened its profit base. As a result, the number of stores at the end of the second quarter was down 8 from the same period of the previous year, but higher average spending per customer and sales per employee resulted in a slight 0.4% year-on-year increase in sales. On an existing-store basis, sales increased 2.5% year on year.」

「The Company is addressing the improvement of profitability per store, one of its challenges for the current fiscal year. Along with optimizing the number of sales staff, it opened 2 stores and closed 3 unprofitable stores during the quarter. As a result, the number of stores at the end of the first quarter was down 10 from the same period of the previous year.」

「While developing stronger stores, the Company will continue closing unprofitable stores and comprehensively improve profitability per store.」