Himaraya swung to a net profit of 535 million yen (€4.0m-$4.8m) in the fiscal year ended last Aug. 31 from a net loss of 811 million, despite a contraction of one percentage point to 35.1 percent in the gross margin due to inventory closeouts. The Japanese retailer's total sales rose by one percent to ¥72.91 billion (€553m-$652m). Winter sports sales increased by 11 percent after a slow start, gaining momentum when snow and cold weather arrived in January. Strong sales of camping products helped to raise its revenues from outdoor equipment by 15 percent. Team sports fell by one percent due to weak global football sales. Golf was down by 2 percent. The company ended the year with 110 Himaraya stores after seven openings and 20 closures. The number of Biando stores fell from 32 to 29.

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