Hong Kong retailers pessimistic about February sales

Hong Kong retailers remain pessimistic about the prospects of sales growth.

According to a note from the HKRMA, the “majority of member companies” forecast “a mid single-digit drop” in sales value for the month of February.

That comes off a modest 0.9 per cent decrease in sales in January, which was tempered by the earlier timing of Lunar New Year holiday season, compared to 2016.

The HKRMA did not offer any further comment on the year ahead. Retail sales data for February will be released by C&SD in the first week of April.  

On January’s data, the HKRMA observed that the positive sales value of local-related retail categories (as opposed to categories underpinned by strong tourist spending) stemmed the year-on-year decline in overall retail sales. December’s decline was 2.9 per cent.

Categories like alcoholic drinks and tobacco, bread, pastry, confectionery and biscuits and supermarket sales posted increased sales, while electrical goods and photographic equipment led those in decline, down 24.4 per cent,  and furniture & homewares fell 9.4 per cent.

When the sales figures were released last Thursday, a government spokesman observed: “Local consumer spending normally attains a seasonal high before the festival. As the Lunar New Year fell on January 28 this year but on February 8 last year, the year-on-year comparison of the figures for January 2017 with those for January 2016 might have been affected by this factor to a certain extent.”

He said it was better to compare combined January and February figures for 2016 and 2017 to accurately assess any overall retail sales trend year-on-year.

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