Business climate survey on restaurants & similar establishments and retail trade for September 2016

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that 21% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reported a year-on-year increase in receipts in September 2016, up by 1 percentage point from August. Western Restaurants and Japanese & Korean Restaurants that experienced less satisfactory performance showed improvement, with 21% and 6% of the respective restaurants recording a year-on-year growth in receipts, up by 5 and 6 percentage points from August. On the other hand, 63% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reported a year-on-year decline in receipts, up by 2 percentage points from the previous month, with 62% of those Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops recording a decrease, up by 14 percentage points from the previous month. As regards retail trade, about 40% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year growth in sales, up by 14 percentage points from August. Meanwhile, the proportion of retailers that recorded a year-on-year decrease in sales dropped by 13 percentage points to 57%. Analysed by industry, all of the interviewed Leather Goods Retailers, 60% of the Adults' Clothing Retailers, 56% of the Department Stores and Supermarkets, as well as 42% of the Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers recorded a year-on-year increase in sales; however, all of the interviewed Motor Vehicle Retailers, 60% of the Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers and 58% of the Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers registered a year-on-year decline. With respect to business prospects in October, restaurants & similar establishments expected to perform better, with 19% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments anticipating a year-on-year growth in receipts, up by 4 percentage points from the previous month; meanwhile, 42% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments expected a year-on-year decrease in receipts, down by 5 percentage points from the preceding month. Among the various types of restaurants, 33% of the Chinese Restaurants forecasted a year-on-year rise in receipts in October, while 69% of the Japanese & Korean Restaurants anticipated a year-on-year decrease. Retailers were more optimistic about their business prospects in October. The proportion of retailers that anticipated a year-on-year increase in sales rose by 6 percentage points from the previous month to 23%, with 80% of the interviewed Leather Goods Retailers expecting an increase. On the other hand, 52% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a year-on-year decrease in sales in October, down by 5 percentage points from the preceding month, with all of the Motor Vehicle Retailers and 63% of the Clocks, Watches & Jewellery Retailers forecasting a year-on-year decline. The sample of the Business Climate Survey on Restaurants & Similar Establishments and Retail Trade was selected based on the 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 reflect only the business performance and the expectations of the sample restaurants and retailers, where no extrapolation of results has been conducted.