| Retailers in Canada turned in a solid performance in 2007, with the year posting the second-highest retail growth rate since 2002. In 2007, retailers sold an estimated $412.2 billion worth of goods and services,
up 5.8% over 2006. Sales by home furnishings stores led the way, rising 12.2% to $6 billion in 2007 (1.5% of total retail sales in Canada), while sales by home electronics and appliance stores rose 10.5% to $12.3 billion — both strong indications of a robust housing market.
Profit margins rose in all industry sectors in 2007 and retail is no exception. Canadian retailers reported a 3.9% rise in operating profits to $4.1 billion, according to Statistics Canada. Operating revenue edged up 0.5% in Q3 2007 following much stronger growth in the previous two quarters.
Among the provinces, Saskatchewan's retailers saw their sales surge by 12.9% in 2007, which was almost twice as high as the |
previous year's growth and the highest rate for the province since the start of the series in 1991 — a reflection of rising commodity prices and record housing starts in that province. Alberta, the 2006 retail champion, slipped to fourth place in 2007 with a 9% increase, reflecting the difficulty of improving over a record year in 2006. The record growth rate of 9.4% experienced by retailers in Manitoba and Newfoundland & Labrador was the result of solid economic growth and, in the case of Newfoundland and Labrador, money flowing back from the Alberta oilpatch.
By contrast, Canada's three largest cities saw their 2007 retail sales rise less than the national average. Among the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver metropolitan areas, retail sales in Toronto (+5.4%) recorded the strongest annual growth, followed
very closely by Vancouver (+5.3%), with Montreal reporting a 3.2% increase in sales. |
