Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade for January 2018


Source: Statistics and Census Service

Monday 19th March, 2018


Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade for January 2018


Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that as the Lunar New Year was in January last year, the proportions of interviewed restaurants & similar establishments and retailers showing a year-on-year growth in receipts in January 2018 decreased compared with December 2017. Among the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments, 31% registered a year-on-year rise in receipts in January 2018, down by 13 percentage points from December 2017. The corresponding proportion of Chinese Restaurants plunged by 50 percentage points to merely 9%. On the other hand, the share of interviewed establishments recording a year-on-year decline in receipts increased by 24 percentage points over December 2017 to 56%. The corresponding proportions of Chinese Restaurants (82%), Japanese & Korean Restaurants (56%) and Western Restaurants (63%) grew by 59, 19 and 16 percentage points respectively. 
     
As regards retail trade, the proportion of interviewed retailers reporting a year-on-year sales increase in January 2018 went down by 13 percentage points from December 2017 to 48%. The corresponding shares of Supermarkets (22%), Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (22%) and Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers (39%) decreased by 56, 45 and 33 percentage points respectively, while the proportion of Motor Vehicle Retailers (78%) increased by 33 percentage points. On the other hand, 37% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales decline, up by 14 percentage points over December 2017. The corresponding proportions of Supermarkets (56%) and Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers (67%) both grew by 45 percentage points, and the share of Adults’ Clothing Retailers (65%) rose by 35 percentage points.
     
Restaurants & similar establishments were more optimistic about their business prospects in February 2018 when the Lunar New Year took place, with 24% anticipating a year-on-year rise in receipts, up by 9 percentage points from January. Among the various types of establishments, 48% of the Chinese Restaurants and 26% of the Western Restaurants predicted a year-on-year increase in receipts in February. Meanwhile, the proportion of establishments expecting a year-on-year decline in receipts went down by 12 percentage points from January to 24%.
     
Retailers also expected an improvement in their business in February 2018, with 37% predicting a year-on-year sales increase, up by 6 percentage points from January. Among the interviewed retailers, 80% of the Leather Goods Retailers, 67% of the Department Stores and 56% of the Supermarkets expected a year-on-year sales rise in February. Meanwhile, 24% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a year-on-year sales decline, down by 4 percentage points from January.
     
The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade was selected based on the value of receipts of the establishments, comprising 167 restaurants & similar establishments (accounting for 53% of the industry’s receipts) and 135 retailers (accounting for 70% of the industry’s receipts). The Survey results were not extrapolated and only reflect the assessment of the business performance and expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers.





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