The Daily. Friday, November 3, 2000
Department store sales fell to $1.49 billion (seasonally adjusted) in September, down 1.1% from August. This decline followed a sizable drop in August (-4.1%). These decreases occurred despite an increase in the number of stores to 726 in September from 717 in July.
The August and September decreases have tempered the upward movement in department store sales since the spring of 2000. Previously, department store sales had been falling since September 1999, after a period of growing sales that lasted more than a year.
Despite the weak sales in September and August, the results for the third quarter were 0.8% higher than those for the second. However, sales in the third quarter were down 2.5% compared with those in the third quarter of 1999.
At the national level, department store sales were down 3.7% in September (not seasonally adjusted) compared with September 1999. The greatest year-over-year drop was posted in the region formed by British Columbia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (-11.7%). Sales in Manitoba (-5.5%), Ontario (-4.2%) and Quebec (-2.2%), were also down compared with September 1999.
Department store sales including concessions
| Sept. 1999 | Sept. 2000 | Sept. 1999 to Sept. 2000 | Jan. to Sept. 2000 | Jan.-Sept. 1999 to Jan.-Sept. 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| not seasonally adjusted | |||||
| $ millions | % change | $ millions | % change | ||
| Canada | 1,512.2 | 1,455.5 | -3.7 | 11,936.4 | 1.1 |
| Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island(1) | 27.9 | 30.0 | 7.6 | 243.3 | 10.2 |
| Nova Scotia | 43.3 | 42.6 | -1.7 | 354.5 | -0.4 |
| New Brunswick | 33.7 | 35.4 | 5.2 | 276.8 | 6.6 |
| Quebec | 268.5 | 262.6 | -2.2 | 2,218.1 | 1.4 |
| Ontario | 658.0 | 630.5 | -4.2 | 5,112.5 | 1.1 |
| Manitoba | 60.7 | 57.3 | -5.5 | 489.2 | 0.0 |
| Saskatchewan | 48.9 | 48.8 | -0.3 | 420.6 | 7.1 |
| Alberta | 175.2 | 175.3 | 0.1 | 1,416.6 | 2.5 |
| British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut(1) | 196.0 | 173.0 | -11.7 | 1,404.8 | -4.4 |
| 1 | For reasons of confidentiality, data for Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island are combined, as are data for British Columbia, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. |
The only significant year-over-year increases in department store sales were reported in the group formed by Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island (+7.6%) and New Brunswick (+5.2%). Those two regions also posted major advances in department store sales for the first nine months of 2000 compared with the same period in 1999.
Available on CANSIM: matrices 111, 112 (series 1) and 113 (series 3).
To order data, or for general information, contact the Client Services Unit (1-877-421-3067; 613-951-3549; retailinfo@statcan.ca). For analytical information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Clérance Kimanyi (613-951-6363; kimacle@statcan.ca), Distributive Trades Division.