These results with seasonal adjustment were in relation to February 2008. In relation to March 2007, the volume of retail sales increased by 11.4%, and the nominal revenue by 16.0%. In the quarter the indicators accumulated respectively 12.0% and 16.6% ...

 

 

 

 

These results with seasonal adjustment were in relation to February 2008.  In relation to March 2007, the volume of retail sales increased by 11.4%, and the nominal revenue by 16.0%.  In the quarter, the indicators accumulated respectively 12.0% and 16.6% (highest quarterly changes of the series), and in the last twelve months, 10.2% and 13.5%.

 

 

The Retail Trade in the Country, registered hike once again, in this third month of 2008, recording rates of 1.8% in the volume of sales and 2.3% in the nominal revenue, both changes in relation to the previous month (seasonally adjusted). These results show the recovery in the rhythm of sales, after the decrease in the previous month, as shown in the trends of the fixed-base indexes and the quarterly moving averages. In the other comparisons, obtained in the original series (without adjustment), the national retail obtained, in terms of volume of sales, increases of 11.4% compared to March of the previous year and 12.0% and 10.2% in the values accumulated of the first quarter and last 12 months, respectively. For the same indicators, the nominal revenue of sales presented rates of 16.0%, 16.6% and 13.5%, respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In March, in seven among ten surveyed activities (table 1) there were hikes in the volume of sales, in the series with seasonal adjustment.  In order of magnitude, the results were: Textiles, apparel and footwear (6.1%); Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (3.3%); Fuels and lubricants (1.7%); Furniture and household equipment (1.6%); Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (1.4%);  Construction material (1.2%); Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and accessories (0.2%); Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (-1.3%); Other articles of personal and domestic use (-2.1%) and Office material, computer and communication equipment (-5.6%).

 

 

In relation to March 2007 (series without adjustment), there were hikes in the volume of sales in all the activities of retail.  The following rates by order of importance in the overall result were observed: Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (9.7%); Furniture and household equipment (14.3%); Other articles of personal and domestic use (23.7%); Textiles, apparel and footwear (11.9%); Fuels and lubricants (5.5%); Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (9.6%); Office material, computer and communication equipment (24.8%) and Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles  (7.1%).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The segment Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco even with the result below the average (hike of 9.7% in the volume of sales in relation to March of the previous year), was responsible for the major contribution (44.1%) in the overall retail rate.  The indexes accumulated in the year and in the last 12 months were respectively 8.9% and 6.9%.

 

 

The activity Furniture and household equipment (14.3% in the volume of sales in relation to March of the previous year), brought the second major result in the formation of the rate of Retail Trade, being responsible for 19% of its magnitude (Table 3).  In the indicator accumulated in the year, the rate was 17.3% and in the last 12 months, 14.9%.

 

 

The activity Other articles of personal and domestic use, brought the third major result in the formation of retail trade, changing 23.7% in the volume of sales in relation to March 2007, being responsible for 16% of the overall rate.  Including segments such as department stores, optics, jewelry, sport articles, toys, etc., this activity had its performance encouraged also by the improvement in the overall scenario of the economy.  The indicator accumulated in the year was 26.9% and the indicator accumulated in the last 12 months, registered change of 23.9%.

 

 

The fourth contribution for the positive result of retail, in March, came from the segment Textiles, apparel and footwear, which expanded the volume of sales in 11.9% in relation to the same month of the previous year.  This result may be explained by the overall good performance of the Brazilian economy and by the new clothes of the autumn - winter season.  The activity accumulated in the year and in the last 12 months registered changes of 13.3% and 11.9%, respectively.

 

The segment Fuels and lubricants, with 5.5% of change in the volume of sales in the relation March 08/ March 07, answered for the fifth major contribution of the retail rate.  In the indicator accumulated in the year, the rate reached 5.3% and in the last 12 months, 5.2%.  This performance is a consequence of stability of prices of fuels, together with the better economic conditions of the Country.

 

 

The activity Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles, with the sixth major participation in the overall retail trade, had growth of 9.6% in the comparison with March 2007 and rates accumulated of 13.2% in the first quarter and 10.8% in the last 12 months.  The expansion in the overall wages together with the diversification of commercialized products and the increase of sales of generic products were the main factors which explain the positive performance of the segment.

 

 

The segment Office material, computer and communication equipment, responsible for the seventh major result in the formation of the overall rate, obtained increase in the volume of sales, in March, of 24.8% compared to the same month of the previous year.  The accumulated rate in the year was 29.2% and in the last 12 months, 31.3%.  It was the activity with the highest level of growth of this month.  Among the factors which determined this performance, were the reduction of prices of these products, together with good credit conditions, and the growing importance that computer and communication equipment are having in the family consumption.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The activity Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles, with growth of 7.1%, brought once more the lowest influence in the retail trade result.   The rate accumulated in the quarter was 11.0% and for the last 12 months, 8.9%. These results were also a consequence of the improvement of the overall economy.

 

The Extended Retail Trade, which includes retail plus the activities of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and accessories and Construction material, registered growth in relation to the previous month of 1.4% for the volume of sales and 1.9% for the nominal revenue, both rates with seasonal adjustment.  In relation to March 2008 (with seasonal adjustment), the changes were 12.1% for the volume of sales and 16.1% for the nominal revenue.  In the indicator accumulated in the year and in the last 12 months the sector had rates of 14.8% and 14.3% for the volume and 19.0% and 16.9% for the nominal revenue of sales, respectively.

 

Regarding the volume of sales, the activity Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and accessories registered expansion of 14.6% in relation to March 2007, accumulating in the quarter and in the last 12 months rates of 21.4% and 23.4%, respectively.  With these results, the activity reached the third position in terms of magnitude of growing rates. The reduction of the interest rates and the enlargement of financing period as well as the positive expectations in relation to the maintenance of employment are the main factors for the expansion of sales in the segment.

 

Regarding Construction material, the changes were 5.5% in the relation March 08/ March 07, 10.9% in the indicator accumulated in the year, and 11.9% in the last 12 months. This performance resulted from the favorable scenario of the economy, especially in what refers to credit and overall wages, together with government policies favoring construction, such as the diminishment of taxes (and consequently of prices) of some basic products of the sector.

 

REGIONAL RESULTS

 

 

 

Two among twenty-seven Federative Units had decrease in the comparison March 08/ March 07: Roraima (-6.7%); Amazonas (-3.6%).  The highlights in terms of positive changes of the volume of sales were São Paulo (17.7%); Rio Grande do Norte (14.3%); Mato Grosso (13.2%); Pernambuco (10.3%) and Mato Grosso do Sul (10.2%) - Graph 3.  Regarding the participation in the composition of the rate of Retail Trade, stood out, by order, São Paulo (17.7%); Rio de Janeiro (7.2%); Rio Grande do Sul (8.5%); Minas Gerais (7.0%) and Paraná (8.5%).

 

In relation to extended retail, the major performance rates in the volume of sales occurred in Espírito Santo (17.4%); São Paulo (16.6%); Goiás (15.0%); Santa Catarina (14.2%); Rondônia (13.8%).  The major influences on the overall retail result  came from São Paulo (16.6%); Paraná (13.6%); Rio Grande do Sul (11.7%); Rio de Janeiro (7.5%); Santa Catarina (14.2%) and Minas Gerais (7.5%).

 

Still by Federative Units, in relation to the previous month (series with adjustment), only five states had decreases in the volume of sales: Tocantins (-2.0%); Roraima (-0.2%); Federal District (-1.9%); Rio de Janeiro (-1.5%) and Minas Gerais (-0.7%).  The major hikes occurred in: Bahia (7.2%); Espírito Santo (5.6%); Ceará (4.9%); Paraná (4.5%) and Rio Grande do Sul (3.3%).
 

 

 

QUARTERLY ANALYSIS

 

 

The change of 12.0% in Retail Trade in the first quarter of 2008, compared to the same period of 2007, surpassed not only the result of the last quarter of the previous year (9.6%) as all the quarterly changes since the beginning of the series. 

 

The activities which determined that performance were: Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco which changed from 5.8% to 8.9%; Furniture and household equipment (from 13.5% to 17.3%); Other articles of personal and domestic use (from 20.7% to 26.9%); Textiles, apparel and footwear (from 11.9% to 13.3%); Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (11.3% to 13.2%) and Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (from  7.17% to 11.0%).  The activity Fuels and lubricants, which changed from 5.2% to 5.3% had stability.  The growth of the activity Office material, computer and communication equipment was lower: from 38.2% in the last quarter of 2007 to 29.2% in the first quarter of this year (table 4).

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Extended Retail Trade, the quarterly rate (14.8%) also surpassed the one of the last quarter of the year of 2007 (13.4%), influenced by the performance of the activities described above, summed to Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, which changed from 21.7% to 21.4%, and Construction material, which reduced its growth from 14.0% to 10.9%.