RETAILER FARING WELL DURING WARM WEATHER
By Adnews Staff
El Nino may be playing havoc with the weather, but Canadian retailers are benefiting from the extra warm weather. Shoppers have bought bikinis, birdbaths, mountain bikes and barbecues two months early. The biggest retailers have shown an increase in sales of 13.2% in April compared to last year, according to Statistics Canada. Sales were $5.4 billion. Last year, sales were $4.74 billion. Flowers and lawn ornaments are gaining popularity. It topped all other categories, with sales growing 69.9%. Sales in the sports and leisure goods category grew 19.7%. Clothing, jewelry and accessory sales jumped 18.1%. The survey polled 80 of the largest national retailers representing 36% of total annual retail sales in Canada including grocery, department and furniture stores. Data also showed that large retailers sold $62.9 billion in goods in 1997. Food stores accounted for 38.4% of total sales, while department stores had 25.3% of sales.