Retail up but not enough

ABS statistics up again for the second month in the row, as positive indicators from vendors, retailers and analysts are backed up with raw figures

By Matthew Sainsbury, Sydney | Tuesday, 02 June 2009
The retail sector has backed up a strong showing in March with a 0.3 per cent rise for April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The result further distances the market from its weak showing in February when it posted a decline of 2 percent. In March, ABS figures showed a 2.2 percent increase.

Turnover also increased by 7.2 percent in April 2009 compared with the same period last year.

Industries that had an increase in April were: Clothing and soft goods (0.8 percent), household goods (3.9 percent) and other retailing (0.1 percent). However, decreases were seen in food retailing (-0.2 percent), department stores (-2.8 percent) and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (-0.5 percent).

South Australia (-0.1 percent), Western Australia (-2.4 percent) and the Northern Territory (-4.6 percent) all suffered a decrease for April, but the other states rose with NSW (1.3 percent) experiencing the greatest increase.

Analyst firm, GfK, also reported positive signs for retail, with tech retailers and vendors, such as Harvey Norman, Nintendo and Microsoft all reporting strong traction.

Despite the rise, Harvey Norman general manager for computers and communications, Luke Naish said he was disappointed with the overall results.

“The poor results from states like WA show the market has generally been flat,” Naish said.

“The chains have been doing OK, as marketing pushes have a positive effect in gaining consumer dollars in tough economic times, however, the small overall rise is an indication that the government’s stimulus package with the cash handouts has not had the impact that it was hoping for.”