Svensk Handel, the representative group for the Swedish retail and wholesale sector, has issued its latest Trade Barometer, in which it found traders to be slightly more pessimistic about the sector as the summer unfolds.
"We can see that the pessimism of traders increased during the summer and this is worrying," said Karin Johansson, CEO of Svensk Handel (pictured). "The trade is undergoing a major turnaround, which is largely driven by increased digitisation. Many traders see their business models and profitability being challenged as a result."
Future Optimism
While grocery retailers have traditionally been more optimistic about future sales growth, Svensk Handel said that this optimism has been reduced somewhat.
Traders' faith in their own business' performance has also decreased slightly this month, due to weaker expectations about future sales. However, traders are somewhat more optimistic about the future profitability of the industry, Svensk Handel said.
The retail and wholesale trade accounts for more than a tenth of Sweden's GDP, and Svensk Handel counts around 11,000 members in its organisation.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
