According to Takumi Shimizu, Director, Merchandising, International Product Div I, NAA Retailing Corporation, while the number of Japanese travelling abroad declined – due in part to the weak yen – the number of foreign visitors to Japan continued to grow dramatically, during fiscal 2015.

 

NAA Retailing Corporation (NAAR), which is wholly owned by Narita International Airport, manages 18 duty-free stores, 14 brand boutiques; 43 general merchandise stores as well as six cafes & bars. It also manages one general merchandise store at Haneda International Airport

 

Shimizu told TRBusiness in a recent interview that the company’s sales results for the year were ‘quite favourable’ amounting to JPY61.717bn (US$561m), up 31.2% yoy, which meant that it was a second record-breaking year in a row for NAAR.

 

 

According to Shimizu, the FY2015 spending level per Chinese customer peaked at JPY12,368 (US$112) during Q1, and dropped 22% to JPY9,658 ($88) in Q4. However the number of Chinese customers continued to trend upward, and further sales increases are expected in the future.

 

LOWER SPEND PER CUSTOMER

Among Japanese passengers an increase in  numbers compensated for a lower spending level per customer.

 

“Among the Chinese passengers who provided the majority of our sales revenue, there was a sustained strong shopping binge during the first half of the year,” Shimizu told TRBusiness. “After HY1 the average spending level fell below that of the previous year but was overbalanced by an increase in passenger numbers.”

 

Shimizu also told TRBusiness that the number of passengers from mainland China to Japan grew 90% year-on-year, 50% for Hong Kong, and 40% for South Korea and Vietnam.

 

 

In addition to the impressive increase in passengers from East and Southeast Asia, Shimizu revealed that travellers from the West – such as those from Italy, Spain, Canada, Australia and France – grew 20%.

 

ROUTES FROM CHINA OPEN UP

Narita Airport’s Terminal 3 opened in April and although the main services to China were transferred to Haneda Airport in the winter schedule from October, a series of new routes from inland Chinese cities opened up at Narita too.

 

 

Encouraged by growing pax, NAA Retailing Corporation (NAAR) says it was ‘vigorously’ engaged throughout fiscal 2015 in opening new and remodelled shops, including those in the new Terminal 3. There were apparently 26 openings and re-openings, bringing the year-end total of operating shops to 83.

 

[See the full-length interview with Takumi Shimizu in a future issue of TRBusiness magazine.]