During February, self-service, department and specialized stores reduced the gap that separates them from the recovery with sales levels very close to those of 2020, when the COVID-19 crisis led to a stoppage of economic activities to avoid infections, according to data from the National Association of Self-Service and Department Stores (ANTAD).
Soriana, Liverpool and La Comer, which are among the chains that make up the association, accumulated sales of 204,000 million pesos in the first two months of the year, a figure that is 1.2% below the 206,600 million for the same period of 2020, when there were still no cases of COVID-19 in the country.
Sales for January and February 2022 were also 1.6% below the accumulated figure for 2021, when the income of ANTAD members totaled 207.3 billion pesos.
However, in February, store sales grew 11.7% in those with more than a year in operation, also known as equal stores. Accounting for the units that were inaugurated in the last 12 months, sales growth stands at 13.9%, compared to the same period in 2020.
“This month’s percentage growth is high, as a consequence of the arithmetic effect of measuring against a low comparison base in February 2021, derived from the fact that a year ago several department and specialized stores remained closed on some days of the month,” ANTAD said in a statement.
With COVID-19, departmental and specialized stores, such as shoe stores or toy stores, were the hardest hit, as they had to remain closed for several months because they were not considered essential, while supermarkets were boosted by panic sales. Two years later, self-service sales have stabilized, while department stores are making progress in their recovery.
Grupo Sanborns, the Carlos Slim chain that considers the Sears brand, reported sales growth in 2021 of 35% compared to the previous year, registering 52,939 million pesos, which, however, was 0.6% below the 53,288 million pesos in sales for 2019.
The Port of Liverpool, which controls the Liverpool and Suburbia stores, obtained revenues of 151,021.7 million pesos in 2021, 4.7% above the 144,233.4 million in 2019. Compared to 2020, the revenues of the company directed by Graciano Guichard were 38.8% superiors.
At the end of 2021, the commercial chains that make up ANTAD grouped together more than 46,000 stores. The total sales area of these establishments amounts to more than 21 million square metres.
