TOKYO, May 12 (Reuters) - Japan's largest department store operator, Isetan Mitsukoshi (3099.T), on Tuesday 12 May forecast a steep drop in profits for this financial year and said it would close a store.

Mitsukoshi, of the Isetan Mitsukoshi group

The firm and other upscale retailers have been battered by shrinking demand as recession-hit consumers flock to cheap stores such as the Uniqlo casual apparel chain run by Fast Retailing (9983.T).

Isetan Mitsukoshi expects its operating profit to fall by 90 percent to 2 billion yen ($20.6 million) for the year ending in March 2010, far below the 9.7 billion yen forecast in a poll of 13 analysts by Thomson Reuters. The company said revenue is likely to fall by 10 percent.

It said it would close a store in a Tokyo suburb in March next year, on top of four stores that were shut earlier this year.

The company's Isetan stores have typically attracted young, fashion-conscious shoppers and Mitsukoshi branches have traditionally been popular with wealthy clients. ($1=97.34 Yen) (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Joseph Radford)