Massmart: Turnaround in sales foreseen this year

Massmart expected a turnaround in retail sales by the end of the year, along with analysts who envisioned a turnaround by the first quarter of next year, the wholesaler said yesterday. Relative to retail sales data, which fell 4.2 percent in May, retailers such as Massmart and Shoprite had put in sterling performances in the year to last month, suggesting smaller retailers were biting the dust. Guy Hayward, Massmart's chief financial officer, said the 4.2 percent was a nominal figure, but that in terms of value positioning, bigger retailers were doing better than the national average. "This must mean someone is doing badly," he said, adding that retailers that up until recently sold on credit would be suffering the most. - Florence de Vries

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