Japanese Appliance Sales Slightly Down in February Mar 26, 2003

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Sales of home electrical appliances at major retailers slid to 171.5 billion yen (U.S. $1.43 billion) in February, down 0.8 percent from a year earlier for the sixth consecutive monthly fall, the Nippon Electric Big-Stores Association said in a preliminary report on Tuesday.

The decline was attributed to weak demand for personal computers. Sales of PCs, which make up the largest share of the market, fell 18.9 percent to 23.7 billion yen ($197.5 million) for the 25th straight monthly fall.

Sales of other home appliances increased 3.7 percent.

"Overall sales will remain sluggish for some time, with PCs acting as a drag," an Association official said.

Among other devices, videocassette recorder sales were down 24.8 percent, and video camera sales dipped 7.2 percent due to a shift in demand for DVD recorders and digital cameras, the Association said. (The Japan Times)

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