Source: Statistics and Census Service

Wednesday 18th April, 2018

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that, as spurred by the Lunar New Year festivities, the business of restaurants & similar establishments and retail trade in February 2018 was better than expected. Among the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments, 49% registered a year-on-year rise in receipts in February, up by 18 percentage points from January. The corresponding proportion of Chinese Restaurants (80%) surged by 70 percentage points from the previous month. Meanwhile, the share of interviewed establishments recording a year-on-year decline in receipts decreased by 21 percentage points over January to 36%. The corresponding proportions of Chinese Restaurants (14%) and Western Restaurants (32%) dropped significantly by 68 and 32 percentage points respectively. 
     
As regards retail trade, the proportion of interviewed retailers reporting a year-on-year sales increase in February reached 84%, the highest proportion since the survey began, up markedly by 36 percentage points from January. Among the interviewed retailers, 90% or more of the Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers, Adults’ Clothing Retailers and Leather Goods Retailers recorded a year-on-year sales rise, up by 78, 65 and 20 percentage points respectively over January. On the other hand, only 8% of the interviewed retailers registered a year-on-year sales decline, down by 30 percentage points from January. 
     
Restaurants & similar establishments expected their business in March to be stable after the Lunar New Year, with 75% anticipating a year-on-year rise in receipts or a steady performance in March, down by 1 percentage point from February. Among the interviewed establishments, 87% of the Japanese & Korean Restaurants and 86% of the Chinese Restaurants predicted their receipts to increase or remain stable year-on-year in March. 
     
Retailers were more optimistic about their business prospects in March, with 79% predicting a year-on-year sales increase or a steady business performance, up by 4 percentage points from February. Among the interviewed retailers, all the Department Stores and Leather Goods Retailers expected a year-on-year sales rise or a stable performance in March. 
     
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.