The member chains of the French federation for the planning and development of specialist retailing saw their sales increase by 2.7% last month.
Spring has got off to a good start for the specialized retail sector, with business up 2.7% in April on a like-for-like basis, according to the panel published by the Procos federation (260 chains -chain stores, franchises and cooperatives - representing some 60,000 sales outlets).
This trend refers to an unfavorable history since April 2014 finished at -1.2%, with a comparable number of working days. "Particularly clement weather conditions supported activity" , Procos points out, with April seeing mild weather with temperatures largely in surplus across the country.
The upturn benefited all consumer centres, particularly medium-sized out-of-town stores (+3.2%) and city-centre stores (+2.7%). By sector, chains specializing in home and personal goods recorded the best sales growth, while culture and leisure ended the month in stagnation, and food & beverage remained negative.
Over the first four months of the year, however, specialized trade remains in negative territory, at -0.9% compared to 2014.
Source: Mathieu Bahuet - Franchise magazine - http://www.franchise-magazine.com/actualite/breves/le-mois-d-avril-a-souri-au-commerce-specialise-9123.html
