Markit France Retail PMI® : Sales continue to fall in May, albeit at slower pace (ENG)

Chris Williamson

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ƒ ƒ ƒ News Release ®Purchasing Managers’ Index MARKET SENSITIVE INFORMATION EMBARGOED UNTIL: 09:10 (UK Time), 30 May 2013 ® Markit France Retail PMI Sales continue to fall in May, albeit at slower pace Key points: lower sales largely reflected a combination of difficult economic conditions and bad weather. Rate of decline in sales eases to weakest in four months Sales were also down on a year-on-year basis in May. The annual rate of contraction remained Further reductions in purchasing and stocks marked, despite easing to the slowest since January. A number of retailers commented that Employment falls at solid rate weak demand in the automobiles sector had Historical overview: negatively impacted the year-on-year sales 50 = no change on previous month (seasonally adjusted) comparison. 65 French retailers signalled that actual sales disappointed relative to previously set plans in May. 60 That said, the extent of the shortfall was the least marked in four months. Panellists expressed optimism regarding the one-month outlook for 55 sales, with optimism improving slightly since April. Factors expected by retailers to boost sales over 50 the coming three months include good weather, store refurbishments and the launch of new 45 products. Those factors set to depress sales include a weak economy, low consumer confidence and strong competitive pressures.

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• Sâles
• France
• Markit Group

Informations

• Publié par: Fil_Economie
• Publié le: 30 mai 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 16
• Langue: English

Extrait

News Release ® Purchasing Managers’ Index MARKET SENSITIVE INFORMATION EMBARGOED UNTIL: 09:10 (UK Time), 30 May 2013 ® Markit France Retail PMI Sales continue to fall in May, albeit at slower pace Key points: lower sales largely reflected a combination of difficult economic conditions and bad weather. ƒRate of decline in sales eases to weakest in four monthsSales were also down on a yearonyear basis in May. The annual rate of contraction remained ƒFurther reductions in purchasing and stocks marked, despite easing to the slowest since ƒ January. A number of retailers commented that Employment falls at solid rate weak demand in the automobiles sector had Historical overview: negatively impacted the yearonyear sales 50 = no change on previous month (seasonally adjusted) comparison. 65 French retailers signalled that actual sales disappointed relative to previously set plans in May. 60 That said, the extent of the shortfall was the least marked in four months. Panellists expressed optimism regarding the onemonth outlook for 55 sales, with optimism improving slightly since April. Factors expected by retailers to boost sales over 50 the coming three months include good weather, store refurbishments and the launch of new 45 products. Those factors set to depress sales include a weak economy, low consumer confidence and strong competitive pressures. 40 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 May data signalled a moderation in the rate of Summary: decline in gross margins to the slowest in six months. That said, the latest fall was again This release contains the May findings from the substantial. Strong competitive pressures were ® monthly RetailPMIsurvey for France, produced by reported to have led to widespread discounting as Markit and based on a panel of 300 retailers. The retailers attempted to defend market share. headline figure is the Retail PMI, which measures monthonmonth changes in sales. Average purchasing costs faced by French retailers continued to increase during May, with survey The downturn in France’s retail sector continued in respondents indicating that suppliers had passed May, although the pace of contraction in sales on higher prices for a number of raw materials. The moderated. Similarly, purchasing activity, rate of inflation was solid, having accelerated employment and gross margins all fell at weaker slightly since the previous month. rates. Stock levels were depleted further, while purchasing costs rose at a solid rate. Stocks of goods for resale held by French retailers decreased for a ninth successive month in May. ® The headline Retail PMIposted 45.3 in May. The There were a number of reports from panellists of latest reading was up from 43.7 in April and the tighter stock management policies. highest in four months. Panellists commented that

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The value of goods ordered by French retailers for Comment: resale was down for a twentieth consecutive month Jack Kennedy,Senior Economist atMarkit and in May. That said, the rate of contraction eased to author of the France Retail PMI, said: the least marked since December 2012. “Sales fell at a slower pace in May, but conditions French retailers continued to cut their staffing levels on the high street undoubtedly remain tough. The in May, reflecting the weak sales environment. current period of decline stretches to well over a Employment decreased for a fourteenth successive year, the longest period in the survey history. month. However, the latest drop was the slowest Although bad weather was partly blamed for the since February. latest disappointing trading, it was again weakness in the wider economy that was the underlying factor hampering retailers. While this situation persists it’s difficult to see a meaningful improvement materialising.” Ends For further information, please contact: Markit Jack Kennedy, Senior EconomistCaroline Lumley, Corporate Communications Telephone 441491461087Telephone +442072602047 [e-mail]+447815812162 Mobile  [e-mail] Notes to Editors: “PMI” isan acronym forPurchasing Managers’ Index, a type of survey developed originally for tracking business conditions in the manufacturing sector. Markit now uses“PMI”describe the methodology used for surveys also undertaken in the services, construction to and retail sectors. The success of thePMIlies in their ability to provide a rapid and reliable guide to what is really happening in the economy from surveys monthtomonth. For the France RetailPMI, Markit Economics has recruited a representative panel of retail companies. The panel includes large chain retailers as well as smaller retailers to ensure balanced representation of the true structure of the French retail sector. Similarly, the composition of the panel in geographical terms and by classification of retailer (i.e. type of good sold) is monitored to ensure accurate representation. Markit Economics ensures the correct structure remains in place over time and that response rates remain sufficiently high to generate reliable economic data. Data collection occurs via the completion of questionnaires by survey panel members during the second half of each month. The percentage figures of companies reporting an improvement, deterioration or no change for each survey variable are converted into a singlefigure “diffusion index” for each variable. Diffusion indexes vary between 0 and 100, with a reading of 50.0 signalling no change on the previous month. Readings above 50.0 signal growth on the previous month and readings below 50.0 signal contraction. The greater the divergence from 50.0, the greater the rate of change signalled. The methodology includes the automatic weighting of each survey response in order to ensure that the effect of each response on the final figure is proportional to the size of the responding company. Where appropriate the indices are seasonally adjusted to take into consideration expected variations for the time of year. Markit do not revise underlying survey data after first publication, but seasonal adjustment factors may be revised from time to time as appropriate which will affect the seasonally adjusted data series. Historical data relating to the underlying (unadjusted) numbers, first published seasonally adjusted series and subsequently revised data are available to subscribers from Markit. Please [e-mail]. The use of the diffusion index methodology means that the results for the RetailPMIwill be directly comparable withPMIsfor other sectors, such as manufacturing, services and construction. About Markit Markit is a leading, global financial information services company with over 2,800 employees.The company provides independent data, valuations and trade processing across all asset classes in order to enhance transparency, reduce risk and improve operational efficiency.

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© Markit Economics Limited 2013

Its client base includes the most significant institutional participants in the financial market place.For more information, see www.markit.com.

About PMIs ® ® Purchasing Managers’ Index(PMI )surveys are now available for 32 countries and also for key regions including the Eurozone. They are the most closelywatched business surveys in the world, favoured by central banks, financial markets and business decision makers for their ability to provide uptodate, accurate and often unique monthly indicators of economic trends. To learn more go to www.markit.com/economics. The intellectual property rights to the France Retail PMI provided herein is owned by Markit Economics Limited. Any unauthorised use, including but not limited to copying, distributing, transmitting or otherwise of any data appearing is not permitted without Markit’s prior consent. Markit shall not have any liability, duty or obligation for or relating to the content or information (“data”) contained herein, any errors, inaccuracies, omissions or delays in the data, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. In no event shall Markit be liable for any special, incidental, or consequential damages, arising out of ® ® the use of the data.Purchasing Managers' Index andPMI areregistered trade marks of Markit Economics Limited. Markit and the Markit logo are registered trade marks of Markit Group Limited.

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© Markit Economics Limited 2013