Here’s why retailers aren’t losing sleep over the anemic retail sector

It’s not a broad-based decline, analysts say.

While local retail environment has been subdued in the past half, analysts say retailers have nothing to worry about.

According to a report by OCBC research, while slowing sales, higher vacancy rates, and high operating costs continue to be a concern for retailers, analysts are still optimistic on the sector.

“The latest retail sales for Apr excluding motor vehicles declined 3% YoY, but we note that this is not a broad-based decline, with supermarkets rising 1.5% YoY for instance,” OCBC research noted.

In line with this view, OCBC said companies like Sheng Siong Group, BreadTalk and QAF have been recording positive underlying performance for their operations in Singapore.