Sales grow 10.26% in the first quarter
Valor Econômico - 04/24/2008
The real growth of 13.84% in sales of the Brazilian supermarkets in March, in comparison with the last year's same month, guaranteed the sector a real high of 10.26% in the sales in the first quarter - the biggest variation for the three first months of the year since 2003. This expansion can be explained by the increasing consumption of the families, but Easter also affected the comparison, since this year the date was cellebrated in March, and in 2007, it was in April. So, this year's April's data should show a retraction and diminish the variation accumulated in 2008. « But, if we disconsider this seazonality (Easter's), sales continued doing well this month », said Sussumu Honda, the President of the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Abras), which published the sector's data yesterday. The entity's projection of 2008's actual high in sales is 4.5%, but the data tends to be reviewd upwards if the next months continue being heated. « In June it will be possible to redo the calculations », affirmed Honda. This movement is sustained not only by the positive course of the economy and the recomposition of the salary mass - specially of the families of smaller income, but also because of the increase in purchases of higher added value. The bigger access of the smaller income classes to the market shelves can be proved also by the ways of paiyng for the purchases. A survey made by Nielsen with 480 companies of the sector shows that, in 2007, the purchases paid in cahs amounted to 35% of the sector's sales. In 2006 that share was 28%. The participation of the debit card also went up, but discreetly: from 15% to 16.1% in the period. Abras' president emphasizes that the sales evolution this year occur over a basis that was already very high last year. The association reviewed the sales results in 2007, of 5.92% to 6% growth in real terms, with sales of R$ 136.3 billion (US$ 70.6 billion). The amount represents 5.2% of the Domestic Gross Product (GDP).