Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that owing to a slowdown in business after the Lunar New Year, coupled with the effect of the Lunar New Year occurring in February last year, the proportion of interviewed restaurants & similar establishments that reported a year-on-year growth in receipts in February 2017 decreased substantially by 25 percentage points from January to 37%. The proportions of Chinese Restaurants (18%), Western Restaurants (25%) and Japanese & Korean Restaurants (31%) that recorded a year-on-year rise in receipts dropped by 73, 40 and 19 percentage points respectively from January, while the corresponding proportion of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (52%) went up by 8 percentage points. On the other hand, 52% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments reported a year-on-year decline in receipts, up by 24 percentage points from January, with the corresponding proportions of Chinese Restaurants, Western Restaurants and Japanese & Korean Restaurants increasing by 61, 30 and 19 percentage points respectively.
As regards retail trade, 31% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year increase in sales in February 2017, down by 23 percentage points from January. The proportions of Adults' Clothing Retailers (20%), Leather Goods Retailers (60%), Supermarkets (44%) and Department Stores (11%) that recorded a year-on-year growth in sales dropped by 45, 40, 33 and 33 percentage points respectively from January, while the corresponding proportion of Motor Vehicle Retailers (44%) went up by 11 percentage points. On the other hand, 53% of the interviewed retailers reported a year-on-year decrease in sales, up by 22 percentage points from January. The corresponding proportions of Adults' Clothing Retailers, Department Stores and Supermarkets increased by 55, 33 and 33 percentage points respectively, while the proportion of Motor Vehicle Retailers went down by 45 percentage points.
The interviewed restaurants & similar establishments were relatively optimistic about their business prospects in March, with 20% anticipating their receipts to increase year-on-year, up by 6 percentage points from February. Among the various types of establishments, 21% of the Chinese Restaurants and 25% of the Japanese & Korean Restaurants expected a year-on-year rise in receipts in March, up by 18 and 6 percentage points respectively from February. On the other hand, 47% of the interviewed restaurants & similar establishments predicted a year-on-year decline in receipts, up by 3 percentage points from February, with the corresponding proportions of Local Style Cafes, Congee & Noodle Shops (50%) and Japanese & Korean Restaurants (56%) rising by 18 and 13 percentage points respectively.
Retailers expected a slight improvement in their business in March. The proportion of interviewed retailers that anticipated a year-on-year increase in sales in March went up by 4 percentage points from February to 22%. Among the various types of retailers, 80% of the Leather Goods Retailers, 22% of the Department Stores and 11% of the Motor Vehicle Retailers expected a year-on-year rise in sales. On the other hand, 40% of the interviewed retailers anticipated their sales to decline year-on-year, down by 4 percentage points from February, and the corresponding proportions of Cosmetics & Sanitary Articles Retailers and Adults' Clothing Retailers were 60% and 50% respectively.
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.