The real impact of the Hong Kong retail downturn last year is graphically illustrated by government statistics released this week.
The 2015 Annual Survey of Economic Activities – Import/Export, Wholesale and Retail Trades, and Accommodation and Food Services Sectors just released by  the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD), analyses the contributions of these sectors to the broader economy. Unlike retail sales data – the latest set which is scheduled for release this afternoon – this report calculates the cost of sales by industry taking into account factors such as the cost of goods sold and staffing.
In the Hong Kong retail trade last calendar year, total receipts amounted to HK$569.6 billion while operating expenses totalled $527.5 billion. That left a gross surplus of $42.1 billion, down 21 per cent on 2015”s surplus of $52.6 billion.
The total value of the import/export, wholesale and retail trades, and accommodation and food services sectors amounted to $5.0204 tillion in 2015, representing a decrease of 3.7 per cent compared with 2014.
Across all the sectors analysed, the gross surplus decreased by 7.7 per cent  – far less than the decline in the retail sector.
In the accommodation services sector which cover hotels, guesthouses, boarding houses and other establishments providing short term accommodation, total receipts amounted to $44.3 billion while operating expenses totalled $28.9 billion in 2015.
The gross surplus decreased from $17.9 billion in 2014 to $15.5 billion in 2015, representing a decline of 13 per cent.
In the food services sector which mainly cover restaurants, total receipts amounted to $132.1 billion while operating expenses totalled $122.5 billion in 2015. The gross surplus increased marginally from $9.3 billion in 2014 to $9.6 billion in 2015.
More detailed survey results will be available from December 31 on the C&SD website.