THE BUSINESS
RESEARCHER NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
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December 22, 2003 Volume 6, Number 9
CONTENTS
* Introduction - Editor's Comments
* What's New at www.gdsourcing.com
* Statistics Canada releases
* Researching the Retail Clothing Sector
* 2001 Census gets a Face-lift
* Small Business Stats Facts
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INTRODUCTION - EDITOR'S COMMENTS
Hello,
Welcome to this issue of the BR newsletter.
I wish everyone a wonder holiday season and a prosperous new year!
I hope you find this issue helpful.
John White
GDSourcing - Research & Retrieval
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WHAT'S NEW AT
www.GDSOURCING.COM - CHARITIES,
CHICKENS & HOTELS
CHARITYRANK.CA
Site: http://www.charityrank.ca/
Site Summary: https://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/CharityRank.htm
Ranking of Canadian charities by money-management efficiencies. (%
spent on charitable works, % not spent, management salary,
fundraising efficiency).
HOTEL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA
Site: http://www.hotelassociation.ca/
Site Summary: https://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/Hotels.htm
Highlight statistics on the accommodations sector in Canada
CHICKEN FARMERS OF CANADA
Site: http://www.chicken.ca/
Site Summary: https://www.gdsourcing.ca/works/Chicken.htm
Statistics on chicken farms and chicken production in Canada
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STATISTICS CANADA RELEASES
The following statistics were released by Statistics Canada over
the last two months. We have listed those releases we feel are of
the most interest to Canadian entrepreneurs.
Very few of these statistics are available on-line. The URL listed
is a direct link to the press release associated with the data. It
provides contact and ordering information.
If you want to purchase any publication related to these releases
please see our web site:
http://www.gdsourcing.com/works/StatCan.htm
We offer a 20% discount on most Stats Can publications and a 10%
discount on Stats Can electronic products. For more information
you can reach us at [email protected]. Put "StatsCan" in the
subject line of your e-mail.
AGRICULTURE
Canadian potato production 2003 (preliminary) and 2002 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031121/d031121c.htm
Census of Agriculture: Agriculture-population linkage database
2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031202/d031202a.htm
Farming operating revenues and expenses 2002 (preliminary
estimates)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031201/d031201c.htm
Net farm income 2002 (revised)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031125/d031125b.htm
Production and value of honey and maple products 2003
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031114/d031114c.htm
ARTS & CULTURE
Television viewing Fall 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031121/d031121a.htm
BUSINESS SERVICES
Development of bioproducts using biotechnologies 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031208/d031208c.htm
CONSTRUCTION
Fixed assets 2003
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031203/d031203c.htm
Home repairs and renovations 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031118/d031118b.htm
DEMOGRAPHICS
Grandparents and grandchildren 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031209/d031209b.htm
Marriages 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031120/d031120c.htm
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
Study: Canada and Australia: A comparison of economic performance
1980 to 2000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031209/d031209a.htm
Rural economic diversification 1986 to 1996
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031209/d031209e.htm
Study: Hollowing-out: An analysis of head offices in Canada
1999-2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031208/d031208b.htm
EDUCATION
Secondary school graduations 2000/01
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031118/d031118d.htm
Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031120/d031120a.htm
Registered apprenticeship training programs 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031120/d031120b.htm
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031128/d031128d.htm2001
Electric power capability and load 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031128/d031128c.htm
Electric power generating stations 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031124/d031124d.htm
Human activity and the environment: Annual statistics 2003
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031203/d031203a.htm
HEALTH
Adolescent self-concept and health into adulthood 1994/95 to
2000/01
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031119/d031119b.htm
Participation and Activity Limitation Survey 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031203/d031203d.htm
Witnessing violence: Aggression and anxiety in young children
1994/95 to 1998/99
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031201/d031201a.htm
INCOME
Canada's retirement income programs 1990 to 2001
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031117/d031117a.htm
Study: Finances in the golden years 1999
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031117/d031117b.htm
Study: Wealth of immigrant families 1999
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031118/d031118c.htm
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Canada's journey to an information society 1997 to 2002
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031209/d031209d.htm
Computer and Peripherals Price Indexes
January 1990 to September 2003 (preliminary)
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031203/d031203b.htm
JUSTICE
Adult correctional services 2001/02
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031208/d031208a.htm
Adult criminal court statistics 2002/03
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031127/d031127e.htm
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RESEARCHING THE RETAIL CLOTHING SECTOR
'Tis the season for new sweaters and socks. 66% of Canadians will
be giving the gift of clothing this holiday season so in the
spirit of the holidays we will look at researching the
retail-clothing sector.
Statistics Canada is the best place to start when researching this
sector. First and foremost is their recent study "A new look:
retail clothing sales in Canada." It examines trends in the
Canadian retail clothing industry from 1997 to 2002 covering
product types (e.g. separates, outerwear and undergarments,
sleepwear and hosiery) and store types (unisex, women's and men's
clothing) (See
http://www.statcan.ca/english/IPS/Data/11-621-MIE2003006.htm)
This brief study is based primarily on two Statistics Canada
surveys: the Monthly Retail Trade Survey and the Quarterly Retail
Commodity Survey. You can access detailed results from both of
these surveys yourself through the CANSIM portion of the
Statistics Canada web site. (See below for details.)
The Monthly Retail Trade Survey provides monthly retail sales for
Canada, provinces and selected metropolitan areas for women's,
men's and "other" clothing stores. It is a convenient way to track
overall sales growth over a number of years.
The Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey provides quarterly retail
sales by specific commodity groupings (e.g. Women's hosiery, Men's
suits, sports jackets and blazers, Boys' clothing and
accessories). This data not only lets you track annual trends in
retail sales for specific commodities but also allows you to
identify seasonal trends. For example almost 37% or $2.3 billion
of the annual spending on men’s wear and accessories was
concentrated in the last three months of 2002.
You can also compare this data with the results from the Monthly
Survey of Large Retailers. This second survey tracks sales of the
same commodity groupings as the Quarterly Retail Commodity Survey
but focuses specifically on the sales recorded by major retail
chains in Canada. By comparing annual or quarterly totals of the
same commodity (e.g. Women's hosiery) you can determine the market
share held by your largest competitors and observe trends over a
number of years. For example the total retail sales estimate for
Women's hosiery in 2000 was $461.7 million. Large retailers
account for 68.4% of this total. By the end of 2002 although
Women's hosiery sales had dropped by 15.5% to $390.4 million, the
market share of large retailers grew to 74.2%. You can make this
detailed comparison by using the CANSIM database (See below)
In addition to retail sales data, Statistics Canada also collects
information on clothing price movements. Highlight data from the
Consumer Price Index for "Clothing & Footwear” is available at the
Statistics Canada web site:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/econ09a.htm
This price index tracks the change in prices consumers pay. It is
often referred to as the inflation rate. You will see at the above
web site that the overall inflation rate for Canada in 2002 was
2.2% but the prices paid for clothing actually dropped by -0.8%.
As a retailer this informs you that there is downward pressure on
clothing prices in Canada.
You will also want to look at the Industry Product Price Index.
This index tracks the changes in prices as a product leaves the
manufacturer. You can access highlights at the Statistics Canada
web site: http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/econ13b.htm You will
note here that although consumer prices on clothing have dropped
slightly in 2002, manufacturer prices have edged up by 0.7%. This
suggests that clothing retailers are feeling the squeeze from both
sides. The price of their stock is slowing rising while consumers
are demanding lower prices. Retailer margins are threatened.
More detailed price indices can be accessed via CANSIM. On the
Consumer side you can view the price changes for women's, men's
and other clothing. On the Industry side you can access product
specific data. For example women's hosiery industry prices saw a
0.9% increase in 2002. This is after a 0.7% increase in 2001 and
2000. For CANSIM table numbers see below.
Another retail survey from Statistics Canada that could be of
interest to a clothing retailer is the Retail Non-store Survey.
This survey tracks annual sales of the same commodity groupings as
above only this time for non-store retailers. Non-store retailers
are those retailers who sell their products by means other than
fixed point-of-sale locations (E.g. broadcasting of infomercials,
direct-response advertising, traditional and electronic
catalogues, door-to-door sales, temporary display of merchandise
(using stalls, craft shows)). Unfortunately 2001 is still the most
current data available. It was release in July of 2003. For the
latest release see:
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030725/d030725b.htm
For the most detailed data use the CANSIM database. (See below)
If you are interest specifically in Internet sales, there are a
couple of Statistics Canada resources you can use. The first is
the Household Internet Use Survey. This survey provides data on
the % of electronic-commerce households who shopped for "Clothing,
jewellery and accessories". You can access a detailed table at:
http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/56F0003XIE/tables/prodserv.htm
For the latest release information see:
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031211/d031211b.htm
The second survey, Survey of Electronic Commerce and Technology,
looks at E-commerce sales by store type. By using the CANSIM
database you can access 4 datasets:
1. % of Clothing & Clothing Accessories Stores that use the
Internet to sell goods
2. the value of Internet sales by these stores with or without
online payment ($ millions),
3. % Internet sales represent of total operating revenue
4. % of Internet sales to outside of Canada.
The charge via the CANSIM database for this information for all 4
variables would be $12.00 ($3.00 x $4.00).
In order to retrieve all relevant CANSIM tables listed above go to
the CANSIM database (http://cansim2.statcan.ca/ ) click on "Find it
by Table Number" then cut and paste the following string of table
numbers (including all commas): 080-0001, 080-0002, 080-0009,
080-0010, 080-0013, 358-0010, 326-0001, 329-0041 CANSIM is an
economical way to access detailed data. The cost is $3.00 per time
series.
In addition to CANSIM data, Statistics Canada also has a CD-ROM
entitled Annual Retail Store Data. This product includes results
from the 1999 and 2000 Annual Retail Store and Annual Retail Chain
surveys. It covers revenues, expenses, inventory, sales per square
footage (chain stores only) and the number of stores. Data is
available by province, North American Industry Classification and
Store type (chains, independents, franchises). The entire CD,
which covers clothing stores as well as all other retail sectors,
costs $100.00. (To order this CD-ROM please e-mail us at
[email protected].
We can also retrieve selected industries for $60.00). This data
will be updated to 2001 and 2002 data in the spring of 2004.
If you are interested in retail sales by square footage but cannot
afford to purchase the Annual Retail Store CD-ROM you can consult
table 8-10 in the 2001 edition of the Market Research Handbook
(Statistics Canada catalogue no: 63-224). It covers 1998 average
and median sales by square-foot and square meter for Women's,
Men's and Other clothing stores.
Unfortunately 2001 was the last edition of the Market Research
Handbook to include this data. You will not find it in the 2002 or
2003 issues. Most libraries maintain older versions of this
publication. Just in case you have difficulty finding the older
version here is the 1998 median sales per square foot data:
Women's Clothing Stores: $290, Men's Clothing Stores: $284, Other
Clothing Stores: $258, Shoe Stores: $303.
While all of the above Statistics Canada data is helpful the
geographical detail is limited. One option for metropolitan and
regional municipality estimates is to consult the annual
publication FP Markets - Canadian Demographics by the Financial
Post. This publication can be located in most major libraries and
business resource centres. Look at the retail sales tables located
at the front of the book for estimates on retail sales of women's
clothing, men's clothing and other clothing. For example in 2003
Women's clothing sales in Brandon, Manitoba were $14.9 million.
You could use this figure to estimate market share or look at
previous years' issues to estimate sales growth in the city.
GDSourcing's Canadian Market Estimates also help you assess local
market potential by telling you average annual household
expenditure on selected types of clothing as well as the effect of
income and household type on purchasing patterns. For more
information see: https://www.gdsourcing.ca/SBDC.htm#CME
Another shortcoming of Statistics Canada data is that while you
can determine market share for large retailers overall, the data
does not identify the market share of individual companies.
Detailed market share analysis is always difficult to locate.
One of the leading research firms for the Canadian market is
Trendex North American. In addition to syndicated research the
company also conducts in Canada both apparel brand awareness
tracking studies and Supplier Evaluation by Retailer (SER)
studies. (See: http://www.trendexna.com) There is a charge to
access their data. If your research budget is $0 do not fret, Trendex does provide some free data on Zeller's market share of
specific clothing categories:
http://www.trendexna.com/Zellers .htm
(Zellers holds an 11.4% market share of the Canadian women's
hosiery market.)
To find other "freebies" from Trendex use a periodical database.
Trendex is often quoted in the newspaper in relation to retail
clothing market shares and growth. Conduct a search on the company
name "Trendex" to locate information on clothing stores and items.
For example in a recent article Trendex was quoted as estimating
that Sears Canada held a 21% share of all lingerie sales in Canada
and a 25% share of all bras and foundations. (Bras with attitude,
Marketing Magazine v.108(4) F 3'03 ) You can access a periodical
database in most libraries. Many even allow you to access their
database via their web site as long as you have a valid library
card.
NPD Group is another research firm that is often quoted in the
media. (http://www.npdcanada.com). No free Canadian data is
available on their web site. However if you search their company
name in a periodical database you can find some highlights. Recent
data quoted from this source includes market share of women's
apparel held by The Bay and Winners (Prada on sale - at the Bay?,
Strategy Magazine Mar 24, 2003 p5) as well as the % increase in
the purchase of men's suits, total value, sales of men's khakis
pants, and growth rate for suits in the 25 to 34 age group (The
numbers are in - and khakis are out, National Post Oct 19, 2002
FP1, FP7)
In addition to the above company names, also use periodical
databases to search on your product category or store type. You
can often locate articles that discuss trends and marketing within
a specific retail-clothing segment.
The most detailed data on clothing is available from the Canadian
Apparel Federation. Their Canadian Apparel Market Reports provide
data on consumer purchases in units and dollars, by retail channel
(department, discount and specialty stores), age of wearer, import
share, private label share of sales and sales by price point. For
a sample of these detailed profiles see men's bathing suits:
http://www.apparel.ca/bookstore/sample 2001.pdf The charge for
these reports is $300.00 for non-members. Normally I would not
mention such an expensive data source in this newsletter but the
detail and availability of this information deserves mentioning.
For more information or to place an order see:
http://www.apparel.ca/bookstore/marketing.html
(Scroll down the page about half way)
When starting an independent retail-clothing store it is important
to understand the typical performance of small businesses in this
sector. Our Canadian Industry Profiles provide key financial
benchmarks for the following store types: Men's Clothing Stores,
Women's Clothing Stores, Children's and Infants' Clothing Stores,
Family Clothing Stores, Clothing Accessories Stores, Fur Stores,
All Other Clothing Stores, Shoe Stores. Financial data now covers
1999 to 2001. These profiles allow you to assess typical
performance of small retailers and determine sector trends by
examining business counts by employee-size. (For more information
see: https://www.gdsourcing.ca/SBDC.htm#CIP)
Retail clothing is a very competitive business environment. More
than 100 clothing stores went bankrupt in 2002 alone. It is vital
you identify your competition and their strengths. Many new
entrepreneurs focus on the weaknesses of their competitors. To be
successful it is your competitors' strengths you must overcome not
their weaknesses!
Use the Yellow Pages or Super Pages to identify the number of
local competitors. At their web sites (http://www.yellowpages.ca
and http://www.superpages.ca/) enter the heading "clothing" or
browse the heading "clothing" to access more detailed sub sectors.
You can also look at previous issues of these directories at your
local library. This way you can track which companies are new
entries and which have disappeared from your market, changed
locations or expanded with additional locations. Also take a
critical look at where these stores are located. What is the
surrounding population like? Number of households? Income? etc.
(Much of this information can be access via Census data - contact
us for more information [email protected])
If any of your local competitors are part of a larger retail chain
you can use the Directory of Retail Chains to find data on the
performance and size of specific retail clothing chains in Canada.
For some entries sales by square foot are also included. This
publication is available in many major reference libraries across
Canada.
A related publication is the Monday Report on Retailers. This
periodical provides insight into the expansion plans of major
retail chains in Canada. Use it to find out if your major chain
competitors are considering expanding into your market. You can
also use it to see what type of store locations they are looking
for (Store front, strip plaza, mall) and the demographic
conditions they feel are favourable for a successful location.
Benefit from someone else's experience!
Also do not forget to view the annual report of any of your
publicly traded competitors. They often include information on
same-store sales growth, sales per square-foot etc. as well as
management discussion of current trends. For example the latest
annual report for Le Chateau indicates that sale per square foot
have risen from $292 in 2000 to $391 in 2002, comparable store
sales were up 18.4% over the same period a year ago. It also
includes commentary such as
"Fashion is a highly competitive global business that is subject
to rapidly changing consumer demands. In addition, there are
several external factors that affect the economic climate and
consumer confidence over which the Company has no influence.
This environment intensifies the importance of in-store
differentiation, quality of service and continually exceeding
customer expectations, thereby delivering a total customer
experience.
With this view, Le Château believes that its distinctive edge on
fashion, its innovative store design and merchandising, its strong
financial position and its winning team of vibrant employees
dedicated to providing the best whole store experience will
facilitate continued success."
Finally it is always a good idea to observe your competitors
directly. Observation can be a powerful tool in assessing your
local competition. Buy a coffee and spend the day watching the
comings and goings of your competitors. How many people leave the
store carrying a bag? What type of clientele goes into the store?
What type of merchandise attracts the greatest attention?
Retail clothing is a challenging business venture. Make certain
you use the multitude of research sources available to you to
ensure your investment is not "taken to the cleaners"!
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2001 CENSUS FACE-LIFT
The main 2001 Census interface page at the Statistics Canada web
site has undergone a major and beneficial face-lift. I am happy to
say it is now much easier to find the demographic data you are
looking. (See:
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/home/index.cfm)
Front and centre are links to search by topic and by geography. At
the top of each results page is a link to identify only "free"
information. You can quickly browse data that is priced perfectly
for your non-existent research budget!
There are also a number of visible direct links to the most
popular portions of the Census site (e.g. GeoSearch - local
neighbourhood household and population counts) as well as plain
English links: "Show me data on the community I live in", "How do
I obtain a custom census data tabulation?”
One draw back of the new interface is that there is no visible
place to conduct a keyword search. While browsing is often an
effective way to find information, unless you know understand how
Statistics Canada categorizes Census data you may give up before
you find the data you need. For example many people would not
think to look for data on self-employment under the topic heading
"Canada's Workforce: Paid" or for data on "Hours Spent Looking
After Children" under the topic heading "Canada's Workforce:
Unpaid"
The search engine is buried under the old interface if you follow
the "Data" link on the left column and then the "Topic Based
tabulations link". The direct page address:
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/index.cfm
Happily you can still use the search methods described in a
previous newsletter article: "How to Win at the Census Shell
Game", BR Newsletter, November 4, 2002 Volume 5, Number 9
https://www.gdsourcing.ca/newsletter/newsletter5-9.htm#census
The new interface should help more people be successful on their
Census search however there is always room for improvement.
Although it may be a challenge to find the data you need, if you
are looking for demographic numbers do not give up on the Census
too quickly. Also feel free to contact us if you need further
assistance accessing this data.
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SMALL BUSINESS STATS FACTS
Each Business Researcher Newsletter ends with a collection of five
statistics related to Canadian small businesses.
1. What is the average number of hours worked a week by
self-employed men? Self-employed women?
Men: 44.8 hours, Women: 33.4 hours
Source: Statistics Canada (2003)
2 What % of self-employed men work more than 50 hours a week?
Self-employed women?
Men: 40%, Women: 19.2%
Source: Statistics Canada (2003)
3. In 2003 what factors negatively impacted Canadian small
business revenues the most?
55% of entrepreneurs reported the rising cost of insurance
premiums
33% of entrepreneurs reported domestic events, such as SARS, Mad
Cow Disease and the recent blackout.
28% of entrepreneurs reported international events, including the
war on terrorism and the war in Iraq
15% of entrepreneurs reported strength of the Canadian dollar
Source CIBC (Oct 2003)
4. What are the top three occupations for self-employment?
1. Chiropractor (86.8% are self-employed)
2. Optometrist (81.1% are self-employed)
3. Farmer and farm manager (79.6% are self-employed)
Source: 2001 Census (Statistics Canada)
5. Which size of firm contributed the most to the net increase in
employment between Q2 2001 to Q2 2002 and Q2 2002 to Q2 2003?
Q2 2001 to Q2 2002: Businesses with 50-99 employees contributed
the most: 37.5% (83,063 employees) of the total net change in
employment followed closely by businesses with 20-49 employees
(36.4%)
Q2 2002 to Q2 2003: Businesses with more than 500 employees
contributed the most: 57.9% (169,596 employees) of the total net
change in employment. (Businesses with 50-99 employees contributed
only 9.5% (27,826) while businesses with 20-49 employees
contributed 9.9%)
The % share for micro businesses (less than 5 employees) were:
Q2 2001 to Q2 2002: -0.7%
Q2 2002 to Q2 2003: +3.6%
Source: Statistics Canada (Sept 2003)
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