Cyprus retail sales buoyant in February

Cyprus retail sales volumes rose by a buoyant 8.8% in February compared with the same month of the previous year, while sales in value terms rose even higher, by 9.8%.

Both rates of growth were higher than those recorded in January, when volumes rose 4.2% year on year and values rose by 5.8%.

A breakdown of the volume data shows that sales at “non-specialised stores with food, beverages and tobacco dominating” (mainly supermarkets and kiosks) rose by 14.9% year on year in February. However, sales of food, beverages and tobacco at specialised stores (the butchers, bakeries and so on) fell by 0.3%, after a fairly strong run since October.

Sales at stores selling furniture and other household and electrical goods rose by 12.6% year on year in February. These have been a good run for over a year, thanks no doubt to the strong housing market.

Clothes and print fall

Textiles, clothing and footwear rose by a meagre 1.1% year on year, after strong growth in the first half of 2004.

The electronic age seems to be eating into sales of printed items, which dropped year on year for the tenth consecutive month–providing us with a good opportunity to remind readers to check out the news and analysis posted several times a day on our revamped website at www.financialmirror.com.