August retail sales lower

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Monday 8th October 2001

Department store closures are partly to blame for a drop in retail activity.

Latest figures show that seasonally adjusted retail sales fell 0.6% in August compared with the previous month, with department store sales down $20 million.

"The fall in department stores was due to closures and the easing of sales growth in the stores that remained trading," comments Statistics New Zealand.

Motor vehicle services and retailing storetypes, which includes service stations, were also a factor in the sales drop, falling $13 million compared with July.

The core retailing group, which excludes motor vehicle services and retailing storetypes, fell 0.2% in August compared with the previous month.

Despite the fall in seasonally adjusted sales this month Statistics New Zealand says the trend in total retail sales remains positive, up 21% since May 1998.

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