Unlike the past two years, consumers now seem to be in a better mood to shop and have found stores open and with extended hours to do so. This year, the chains have operated with a green traffic light, which has been a key factor in their recovery.
With COVID-19, departmental and specialized stores, such as shoe stores or toy stores, were the hardest hit, as they had to remain closed for several months because they were not considered essential, while supermarkets were boosted by panic sales.
Two years later, self-service sales have stabilized, while department stores are making progress in their recovery. However, the shadow of inflation in the country, which in March stood at 7.45% – its highest level in 21 years, according to the Inegi – has become a challenge for the recovery of the sector.
Grupo Sanborns, the Carlos Slim chain that operates the Sears brand, reported sales growth in 2021 of 35% compared to the previous year, registering 52,939 million pesos, which, however, was 0.6% below the 53,288 million pesos in sales for 2019.
The Port of Liverpool, which controls the Liverpool and Suburbia stores, obtained revenues of 151,021.7 million pesos in 2021, 4.7% above the 144,233.4 million in 2019. Compared to 2020, the revenues of the company directed by Graciano Guichard were 38.8% superiors.
La Comer, which of the retailers has been the one that has given the best response to the crisis, reported revenues of 28,906 million pesos in 2021, that is, an increase of 7.0% year-on-year, while same-store sales reached growth of 4.3%.