Japanese convenience chains say September same-store sales fell

Lawson Inc., FamilyMart Co. and six more Japanese convenience store chains said September sales fell from a year earlier. Sales at outlets open for at least a year declined an average of 1.4 percent, according to a Bloomberg News survey. The companies cited a decline in per-customer spending.

September sales at Lawson, Japan's second-largest convenience store chain, fell 1.5 percent from a year earlier. FamilyMart, the No. 3 chain, reported a 0.9 percent decline.

Seven-Eleven Japan Co., the convenience store unit of Seven & I Holdings Co., Japan's biggest retail group, had a 2 percent gain in sales for the month. Seven & I Holdings was formed in a Sept. 1 reorganization of Seven-Eleven, supermarket operator Ito-Yokado Co. and restaurant chain Denny's Japan Co.

The following table shows percentage changes in same-store sales for September from a year earlier. Same-store figures exclude the effect of store openings and closings by measuring results at stores open at least a year.

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