Mycal launches clearance sales at Saty, Vivre stores

OSAKA -- Failed supermarket chain Mycal Corp. on Wednesday started a clearance sale featuring some 10 billion yen worth of stock at discounts of up to 80 percent at all 104 of its Saty retail outlets and Vivre apparel stores.

Bargain-hunters flood a Vivre Fuse department store to snap up clothes and other products.

All clothes will be sold at an 80 percent discount while home electrical appliances will be sold at half price, the company said. Prices of other household appliances and everyday goods will also be cut by 80 percent, Mycal said.

The sale ends Monday, but it may end earlier if the products are sold out, the company said.

After the sales, Mycal will remodel its outlets, hoping to bring back customers it lost after it applied for court protection in September.

Mycal said it expects to post an extraordinary loss of about 5 billion yen on the clearance sale, as the products will be sold at prices well below cost.

"The 80 percent discount is attractive amid the economic depression. I always come to this shop and want it to hang on," said a woman who was among the 3,000 people waiting in front of the Fuse Vivre in Osaka Prefecture before it opened at 10 a.m. Wednesday.