Viennese Trade with Revenue Increase in the 1st Half-Year

Sales in the Vienna trade sector increased nominally by 3 percent to approximately 61 billion euros. In real terms, this means an increase of 1.6 percent, explained the Vienna Chamber of Commerce in a statement on Tuesday. In the last two years, the Vienna trade sector had recorded declines of 4.9 and 2.3 percent, respectively.

Vienna Retail as the Winner

While the retail sector recorded a sales increase of 3.3 percent to 8.8 billion euros and the wholesale sector achieved a nominal increase of 2.3 percent to around 48 billion euros, the automotive industry only recorded a nominal sales increase of 0.9 percent to 4.2 billion euros. In real terms, this corresponds to a decline of 1.7 percent. Among the winners in the Vienna retail sector were the flower trade with a real increase of 3.4 percent and the electronics/furniture/home improvement group with a real sales increase of 3.2 percent. The trade in toys and sporting goods increased by 2.7 percent in real terms, and the food retail sector showed a real increase of 1.6 percent.

On the other hand, the losers included the watch and jewelry trade with a real sales decline of 8 percent. The business with books/newspapers (minus 5.8 percent real) also weakened. Pharmacies and drugstores recorded real sales losses of 1 percent. "We see that consumer confidence is slowly returning," noted Margarete Gumprecht, chairwoman of the trade division in the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. "Nevertheless, the burdens from rising costs and international competition are high."

(APA/Red)

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