Alberta leads in retail sales, StatsCan says
Alberta posted the best annual retail sales growth of all provinces in May, a month Statistics Canada data showed was driven by auto demand.
Alberta sales grew by 6.5 per cent from May 2013 to $6.5 billion, an increase of 0.3 per cent from April, the federal agency said Wednesday. Sales nationally reached $42 billion, up 0.7 per cent on a monthly basis and 4 per cent year-over-year.
Rising retail sales numbers in Alberta are enticing more first-time international retailers into the local market.
The latest is Brandy Melville, a teen-targeted Italian fashion brand that’s gained popularity among young Hollywood celebrities including the Kardashians, Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus. The Calgary store — its 10th in Canada — opened Friday at Market Mall.
“Our main selling point is that we are one size. So we are basically a one size fits most theory,” said regional manager Elise Alldridge. “We have a busy store in Vancouver and we were definitely looking to expand. We would make Facebook postings to where our fans would like to see us next and Calgary was a big one.”
The company opened a store at West Edmonton Mall about a month ago.
Todd Hirsch, chief economist with ATB Financial, said Alberta shoppers stopped just short of the record-setting month achieved in March.
“Alberta’s sales account for 15.4 per cent of Canada’s total retail trade — not bad for a province with only 11.6 per cent of the country’s population,” he said.
Benjamin Reitzes, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets, said Canadian consumer spending remains healthy though activity continues to be focused on autos — which are on pace for another record year.
With manufacturing, wholesale and retail activity all higher in May, monthly GDP looks as though it will come in at 0.3 per cent, which would keep the second quarter on pace for 2.3 per cent annualized growth, about twice that of the first quarter, he added.
National sales gains were largely concentrated in the new cars and trucks category, which rose 2.3 per cent to a record 197,740 vehicles sold. Excluding autos, national retail sales were up only 0.1 per cent for the month, below the 0.3 per cent anticipated by economists.