FALL IN RETAIL TRADE TURNOVER

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31632, 19 March 1968, Page 7

FALL IN RETAIL TRADE TURNOVER

There was a decrease of 1.2 per cent in the retail trade turnover of the quarter ended December 31, 1967, compared with the same period in 1966, says the Government Statistician (Mr J. V. T. Baker). The figures were $425.3 million and $430.3 million respectively. There was a fall of 2.5 per cent for the quarter ended September 31 compared with the same period in 1966. During both the September and December quarters of 1967, sales in the furniture and soft furnishings group showed substantial falls compared with the same quarters of the previous year.

These were 15 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. Other groups to show falls in turnover for the December quarter compared with 1966 were household appliances (5.6 per cent), butchers (4.4 per cent), apparel (4.2 per cent), footwear (3.3 per cent), hardware (2.5 per cent), and department stores (1.7 per cent). Increased sales were recorded by chemists, grocers, and food and drink stores in general. Turnover of retail trade, corrected for seasonal fluctuations, was 0.1 per cent less in the quarter ending December 31, 1967 than in the preceding quarter. With similar adjustments, trade for the quarter ending September 31 was 1.8 per cent less than in the quarter ending June 31. With further adjustments to remove the effects of price and population changes the turnover per head was at the same level as that recorded for the September quarter ($112.2). On the same basis, the December. 1967 figure was 7.6 per cent below that for the December quarter in 1966.