South Africa Retail Report Q4 2015 - New Study Released

Despite South Africa's unsatisfactory economic performance, there continues to remain a number of reasons to be optimistic towards the country's retail sector. Gradual modernisation of the country's urban retail real estate has helped redefine South Africa's competitive landscape, with a number of large, international retail groups, such as Krispy Kreme, preparing to enter the market over our forecast period. Nonetheless, headwinds remain due to the country's unstable economic outlook combined with high unemployment, high household debt and increasing interest rates.

South Africa's economy has shown little sign of improvement during the first half of 2015. According to figures released on May 26, annual GDP grew by a mere 1.3% in the first three months of this year, a dramatic drop compared with the 4.1% achieved in the final quarter of 2014. As such, we expect the retail market to experience weaker consumer demand and falling levels of business confidence, which will deter interest from potential retail investors. Further headwinds will stem from the country's endemic levels of unemployment, which stands at 26.4% as well as the ongoing energy crisis which is generating regular blackouts.

Full Report Details at
- http://www.fastmr.com/prod/1053005_south_africa_retail_report_q4.aspx?afid=301

Despite the bleak economic outlook, we remain optimistic that the retail sector has substantial potential. We expect household spending to remain relatively resilient despite adverse economic conditions owing to a youthful and increasingly urbanised workforce entering the middle-income bracket. By 2019, we forecast a total 3.25mn households to reach the USD10,000+ income bracket, up from 2.70mn in 2015. Total spending will also see robust growth, increasing from USD154bn in 2015 to USD173bn in 2019. The largest proportion of spending will go towards the essential spending categories of housing & utilities, transport and food & drink.

The South Africa Retail Report has been researched at source and features BMI Research's independent assessment and forecasts for the retail sector. The report examines key drivers of retail sales growth and future prospects, including consumer spending and private sector investment.

BMI's South Africa Retail Report also examines the level of development and potential for growth of the retail sector, the commercial initiatives of major players, changing consumer demographics that influence demand and the regulatory environment. Key sub-sectors include mass grocery retail, autos, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, computers and consumer electronics.

Key Benefits

* Benchmark BMI's independent retail industry forecasts for South Africa to test other views - a key input for successful budgeting and strategic business planning in the South African retail market.
* Target business opportunities and risks in South Africa

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