T O P 2 O

QUARTERLY BUSINESS CONDITIONS
FIRST QUARTER 2014
W
ith a harsh winter and a late spring across the country, both retailers and vendors have been affected with slow sales and a late start
to 2014. Despite this, retailers are optimistic about the coming six months and are confident that conditions will improve through the
rest of the summer. Vendors are more cautious about the near term, with expectations for the next six months in line with their outlook
a year ago. Longer term, their forecast of business conditions is even more cautious. However, with improving weather, the summer season
could significantly improve the outlook for both vendors and retailers.
Do you expect your sales to
increase over the next 6 months?
Do you expect your sales to
increase over the next 12 months?
At year-end 2014, how do you expect
sales for this year to have gone?
10.9%
NO
6.5%
UNSURE
RETAILERS
82.6%
YES
23.9%
NO
10.9%
UNSURE
RETAILERS
65.2%
YES
30.4%
FLAT
4.4%
DOWN
RETAILERS
65.2%
UP
The percentage of retailers expecting sales to
increase in the next six months is up drastically,
versus expectations in Q1 2013.
Year-over-year, the answers are consistent
with last year’s responses.
About two-thirds of dealers expect to end
2014 with improved sales over last year.
18.0%
NO
8.2%
UNSURE
VENDORS
73.8%
YES
19.4%
NO
16.1%
UNSURE
VENDORS
64.5%
YES
35.5%
FLAT
8.1%
DOWN
VENDORS
56.4%
UP
Almost three-quarters of vendors anticipate
their sales will improve over the next six months.
Vendors are less optimistic in their outlook
for sales over the next 12 months.
More than 90 percent of vendors expect their
sales this year to be up over 2013.
8 THIRD QUARTER / 2014
Hardlines Home Improvement Quarterly
www.hardlines.ca