Retailers in the clothing and footwear sectors saw turnover increase by 0.5 per cent in the first six months of 2012, compared with the same period a year before, according to the first Malta Retail Review, undertaken jointly by Deloitte and EMCS with the support of Bank of Valletta.

The review also found that turnover amongst participants had increased by 0.4 per cent in 2011, compared with a year before. Notwithstanding the overall marginal gains, Valletta saw a considerable decrease of 10.3 per cent, losing business primarily to Sliema and Birkirkara.

The Review reported that although franchises fared slightly better than non-franchise outlets, there was a marked move from high street outlets to mall outlets, with the former seeing a drop of 3.9 per cent and the malls seeing an increase of 8 per cent, between 2010 and 2011.

This market research covers all the main shopping areas in Malta and Gozo, and in all, 113 outlets with a consolidated turnover of  €68.4 million  participated in this market survey.

“We believe that The Malta Retail Review will fill a void in this important market sector, and will complement other successful market intelligence initiatives undertaken by Deloitte for other key sectors” Deloitte Financial Advisory Leader Raphael Aloisio said.

“The retail sector is a very important one for Bank of Valletta and having regular updates on trends will enable us to monitor the sector and be in a better position to assist our customers,” BOV’s Executive Head of the Research and Business Generation Department Noel Scerri said.

Stefano Mallia, director of EMCS confirmed that “ This initiative, which will undoubtedly prove invaluable to retail operators will in future be extended to cover other retail sectors such as food, pharmacies, household goods, restaurants, electronics, ICT and toys”.