Aeon, Japan’s second largest retailer, on Wednesday gave the first clear indication of the impact the recession is having on consumer spending by warning it could fall into loss this year for the first time in seven years.

The company, which operates superstores selling everything from groceries to electronics, said its full-year net profits to the end of February could range between a profit of Y2.5bn ($26m) and a Y2.5bn loss. The group had initially forecast profit of between Y11bn and Y15bn.