Four major department store operators Wednesday reported solid same-store sales growth for January, thanks to a recovery in customer traffic from the COVID-19 pandemic. Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings posted a 20.9% rise in January sales from a year before. Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores saw a 20.8% gain. Takashimaya’s sales rose 16.3%. Sogo & Seibu saw its sales grow 11.1%. Luxury brand goods and other expensive products fared well. Coats also sold well, reflecting the colder weather. The companies also saw brisk sales during the New Year period. Duty-free sales made a rapid turnaround, with Daimaru Matsuzakaya marking a 7.6-fold increase. January sales were still below levels three years earlier, before the pandemic, except for Isetan Mitsukoshi. Sales rose significantly in large cities. Daimaru Matsuzakaya’s Daimaru Tokyo store saw its sales soar 43.1%, while sales at Isetan Mitsukoshi’s Isetan Shinjuku store, also in the Japanese capital, climbed 29.1%.