premise: Japanese department store operator Matsuzakaya Co. Ltd. Friday said its parent company pre-tax earnings leapt 62.9 percent from a year earlier to 5.5 billion yen (45 million dollars) in the year to February.
  The Nagoya-based company said consolidated sales climbed 1.7 percent to 435.6 billion yen in the same period, forecasting an even higher profit of 5.8 billion yen for the current year on increased sales of 444 billion yen.
  "Although demand from corporate clients was sluggish, sales of women's clothing and personal effects showed steady gains," a statement said.
  "We can expect new demand as a result of deregulation and administrative reforms in the current year. But concerns remains over stagnant personal spending following the April 1 consumption tax hike."
   What fueled this increase in sales despite sluggish corporate demand?
hypothesis: sales of women's clothing and personal effects showed steady gains