GLR big ticket sales up in November

OTTAWA (25 January 2016) – Sales across all five big ticket home categories were up on a month-over-month basis for the 80-member strong Group of Large Retailers (GLR), according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada. Televisions and home furnishing sales led the way as these two categories traditionally see their sales jump in advance of the Holiday Season.

The national bean counter set GLR furniture sales at an actual and preliminary $246.9 million for November 2015, up 6.7% from the revised $231.5 million for October. Sales were also 9.0% higher than the $226.5 million rung-up in November 2014.

This was the first monthly uptick after two consecutive months of slippage, but still lag behind the monthly high for 2015 of $258.5 million set in August.

For the year-to-date ending November 31, furniture sales were $2.45 billion, a 4.6% advance from the $2.35 billion for the comparable period of 2014.

Mattress sales reversed direction after two consecutive months of decline. For the month of November, they were pegged at a preliminary and actual $77.3 million; jumping 5.4% from the prior month’s revised $73.3 million and 14.4% better than the $67.5 million sold in November 2014.

GLR mattress sales for the year-to-date were $765.6 million, up 14.0% over the $671.4 million for the same period a year ago.

Major appliance sales were estimated at $167.4 million for the month, gaining 3.6% over the revised $161.6 million for October but down 1.1% from the $169.3 million sold in November 2014.

For the year-to-date, white goods sales were $1.70 billion, down 1.1% from the $1.72 billion rung-up during the January to November period of 2014.

GLR sales of televisions and audio/visual equipment were set a preliminary $331.9 million for November, a 75.1% leap over October’s revised $189.6 million. However, they were off 3.9% from the $345.6 million sold in November 2014.

Sales of this sub-set of consumer electronics were down 5.5% for the first 11 months of the year at $2.09 billion, compared to the $2.21 billion rung-up in the same period of 2014.

Home furnishings sales – which cover everything from floor covering to lamps and lighting, decorative accessories and wall art – totaled a preliminary $383.0 million for November, up a Holiday Season-driven 52.0% from the revised $252.0 million sold during the prior month and up 6.5% from the $359.7 million sold in November 2014.

Sales for the first 11 months were $2.61 billion, up a minor 1.6% from last year’s $2.57 billion.

While the dollar volumes for the group are preliminary estimates, they are unadjusted for seasonality or other factors.

In addition to its monthly report on retail store sales and its quarterly report on retail sales by commodity, Statistics Canada also reports on sales by commodity for what is termed as its group of large retailers. These are the 80 retail companies that, for the most part, have stores across the country or are dominant players in their home province.

For the big ticket home category – including furniture, mattresses, home furnishings, appliances and consumer electronics – the group of large retailers includes: the Brick; Leon’s Furniture; The Source; IKEA Canada; BMTC Group; and, Best Buy Canada, as well as the Calgary-based, 27-unit CE specialist Visions Electronics, among others.

Several of this country’s largest general merchandise store operators with active big ticket home goods businesses are also included. Among these are: Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC); Sears Canada; Walmart Canada; and, Canadian Tire Corp., among others.