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THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 1993

THE INCREASE WAS MAINLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO STRONG GROWTH IN SPENDING ON CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR AS WELL AS CONSUMER DURABLE GOODS OTHER THAN MOTOR VEHICLES AND PARTS.

SALES OF CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR REGISTERED THE LARGEST INCREASE IN MARCH 1993 COMPARED WITH A YEAR AGO, BY 45% IN VALUE AND 34% IN VOLUME.

SALES OF CONSUMER DURABLE GOODS OTHER THAN MOTOR VEHICLES AND PARTS WENT UP BY 25% IN VALUE AND 26% IN VOLUME.

MODERATE INCREASES WERE RECORDED FOR SALES IN DEPARTMENT STORES, BY 10% IN VALUE AND 3% IN VOLUME; SALES OF JEWELLERY, WATCHES AND CLOCKS, AND VALUABLE GIFTS, BY 7% IN VALUE AND 14% IN VOLUME; AND SALES IN SUPERMARKETS, BY 9% IN VALUE AND 2% IN VOLUME.

ON THE OTHER HAND, SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES DROPPED BY 4% IN VOLUME, DESPITE AN INCREASE OF 3% IN VALUE. SALES OF FUELS REGISTERED

A DECREASE OF 1% IN VALUE AND 6% IN VOLUME.

COMPARING THE PERIOD FROM JANUARY TO MARCH 1993 WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1992, TOTAL RETAIL SALES ROSE BY 11% IN VALUE AND 7% IN VOLUME.

COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1993, AND BEARING IN MIND THAT THIS COMPARISON MAY BE AFFECTED BY SEASONAL FACTORS, TOTAL RETAIL SALES MARCH 1993 INCREASED BY 9% IN VALUE AND 10% IN VOLUME.

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THE VOLUME OF RETAIL SALES IS DERIVED FROM THE VALUE OF RETAIL SALES AFTER ADJUSTING FOR PRICE CHANGES. THE RELEVANT COMPONENTS OF THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX ARE USED AS DEFLATORS.

THE REPORT CONTAINING THE ANALYSIS OF THE MARCH 1993 RESULTS IS NOW ON SALE AT $2 A COPY AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING, CONNAUGHT PLACE, CENTRAL; AND THE PUBLICATIONS SECTION OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT, 19TH FLOOR, WANCHAI TOWER, WAN CHAI.

ENQUIRIES ABOUT THE SURVEY RESULTS MAY BE DIRECTED TO WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE STATISTICS SECTION OF THE CENSUS STATISTICS DEPARTMENT ON TELEPHONE 802 1258.

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NOTE TO EDITORS:

TABLE 1 PRESENTS THE REVISED TOTAL RETAIL SALES FIGURE FOR FEBRUARY 1993 AND THE PROVISIONAL FIGURE FOR MARCH 1993.

IN

TABLE 2 SHOWS THE VALUE AND VOLUME INDICES OF RETAIL SALES FEBRUARY AND MARCH 1993 FOR ALL RETAIL OUTLETS AND BY TYPE OF RETAIL OUTLET, WITH AVERAGE RETAIL SALES FROM OCTOBER 1989 TO SEPTEMBER 1990 TAKEN AS 100.

COMPARISONS OF THE MARCH 1993 RESULTS WITH THOSE FOR FEBRUARY 1993 AND WITH THOSE FOR MARCH 1992, AS WELL AS COMPARISONS OF RETAIL SALES IN THE PERIOD JANUARY TO MARCH OF 1993 WITH THE SAME PERIOD IN 1992 ARE ALSO GIVEN.

/TABLE 1 H