Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that 20% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reported a year-on-year increase in receipts in August 2016, down by 14 percentage points from July. Chinese restaurants achieved comparatively better performance, with 30% of the interviewed Restaurants recording a year-on-year rise in receipts. On the other hand, 61% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reported a year-on-year decrease in receipts, with 94% of the interviewed Japanese & Korean Restaurants and 79% of the Western Restaurants recording decrease. As regards retail trade, 26% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year growth in sales in August, similar to the proportion in July. Analysed by industry, all of the interviewed Leather Goods Retailers recorded a year-on-year sales increase; however, 89% of the Department Stores, 79% of the Watches, Clocks & Jewellery Retailers and 78% of the Motor Vehicle Retailers registered year-on-year declines. With respect to business prospects, 15% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments anticipated a year-on-year growth in receipts in September, similar to the proportion in the previous month, with 22% of the Chinese Restaurants expecting an increase. Meanwhile, 47% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments anticipated a year-on-year decrease in receipts in September, up by 6 percentage points from the previous month. Retailers were cautious about their business prospects. The proportion of interviewed retailers that anticipated a year-on-year increase in sales in September rose by 2 percentage points from the previous month to 17%, with 60% of the interviewed Leather Goods Retailers expecting a growth in business. On the other hand, 57% of the interviewed retailers anticipated a year-on-year drop in sales in September, remaining unchanged from the previous month; 74% of the Clocks, Watches & Jewellery Retailers and 70% of the Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers predicted a sales decline, and all of the Motor Vehicle Retailers expected a decline of more than 20%. 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.
