Times are getting better!

At least if you’re selling bags filled with an unknown quantity of women’s clothing items at a major department store. Maybe I need to get into that business…can’t be too complicated.

福袋、１分５１秒で 完売…２万人行列の 百貨店も

主要百貨店の初売りは、都心部の店舗で 前年の売り上げを上回るなど、おおむね好 調だった。 最近の株価上昇など、景気の先行きに明 るい兆しが見え始めたためだとみられる。 高島屋日本橋店（東京都中央区）では２ 日、婦人服のブランド福袋が開店後まもな く完売した。同日の売上高は昨年より４％ 増えており、「財布のひもも少し緩くなっ ているのでは」と分析している。 松屋銀座（同）では２日、婦人服の人気 ブランド福袋が開店から１分５１秒で完 売。宝石や毛皮商品が入った福袋も１時間 程度で売れ、「昨年より消費に勢いがあ る」という。 初売りが元日だった西武池袋本店（東京 都豊島区）では、開店前に２万人が行列を 作った。１～２万円台の婦人服や食品の福 袋が人気で、同日の売り上げは昨年の初売 り日（２日）に比べ２０％増えた。 （2013年1月3日19時40分 読売新聞）

Grab bags, sold out in 1 minute, 51 seconds…20,000 person line in front of department stores

Major department stores’ first sales at Tokyo stores increased over last year’s sales, generally in good shape.

It seems this being driven by recent commodity price increases and increasingly positive signs in the economy.

On the second at Takashimaya’s Nihonbashi store (in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward), grab bags of women’s brand name clothing sold out as soon as the store opened. Sales were up 4% for the same day compared to last year. Takashimaya concluded that, “People’s grip on their money has gotten a little bit looser.”

At Matsuya’s Ginza store on the 2 nd , the grab bag of women’s brand name clothing sold out 1 minute, 51 seconds after the store opened. Grab bags containing jewelry and fur goods also sold out within 1 hour. Matsuya stated that “Consumption is stronger than last year.”

New Year’s Day sales at the Seibu Ikebukuro store (Tokyo’s Toushima Ward) drew a line of 20000 people before store opening. 10-20,000 yen grab bags of women’s clothing and food items were popular and sales compared to the previous year on the 2 nd were up 20%.