Business

Canada’s inflation rate turned negative

Published

4 years ago

May 20, 2020

Canada’s inflation rate fell to an annualized –0.2 per cent in April, as the COVID-19 in B.C pandemic pushed down consumer prices for the first time in more than a decade.

Statistics Canada’s consumer price index plummeted to negative reading as the price of just about everything got much cheaper last month than it was a year ago. April’s decline was the first time Canada’s year-over-year inflation rate fell into negative territory since September 2009.

Among the major categories seeing huge price declines were:

Gasoline, down by almost 40 per cent.
Traveler accommodation, down by almost 10 per cent.
Electricity prices, down by more than four per cent.
Clothing and footwear, down by almost six per cent.

Food prices were among the few products that got more expensive during the month, rising by 3.4 per cent overall due to “higher demand for non-perishable food products, as consumers were encouraged to limit grocery shopping trips as a result of physical distancing measures,” the data agency said.

The well-documented surge in demand for toilet paper helped push prices in that product category up six per cent, the biggest spike on record.

The price of clothing came down, mainly because just about all clothing stores were forcibly shut down during the month, which made inventory pile up and forced any retailers with the capacity to sell online to do so, often at deep discounts. The clothing and footwear category fell by 5.9 per cent from March to April, the deepest plunge on record.

The data agency noted that much of the decline in electricity prices came from the Ontario government’s decision to scrap time-based pricing during the month and bill people at the lowest possible rate, regardless of when they are using power

Toronto-Dominion Bank economist James Marple said the data clearly shows that although sectors hit hard by COVID-19, such as hotels and clothing stores, were forced to slash prices to grab whatever customers they could find, on the whole the numbers don’t suggest Canada is facing long-term deflation.

“While we would caution against placing too much emphasis on the stability in core measures given the difficulty price collectors had in April (and the need to extrapolate prices for items that they could not measure), the fact remains that outside of the most impacted sectors, price growth remains positive,” he said.

And the biggest factor dragging down the inflation rate was the huge plunge in gasoline prices, which are already showing signs of heading back up.

“With activity slowly normalizing through May, the biggest of the price declines are likely in the rear-view mirror,” Marple said.

While the headline of price declines obviously draws attention, Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter said the numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, given that Statistics Canada was essentially imputing the price for a lot of products and services that couldn’t even have been purchased during the month, like vacation packages and haircuts.

“As much as this is an important release, the reality is that the market for a number of goods and especially services was shut down in April, so many of the prices for that month are nearly meaningless,” Porter said.

“We suspect that when the economy partially reopens and the dust settles, underlying inflation will be close to zero.”

Source link

Business

Roots sees room for expansion in activewear, reports $5.2M Q2 loss and sales drop

Published

13 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.

The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.

“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.

The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.

But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.

Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.

“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.

“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”

Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.

The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.

In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.

Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.

The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.

The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.

Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.

Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.

It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.

Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.

Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ROOT)

Source link

Business

Talks on today over HandyDART strike affecting vulnerable people in Metro Vancouver

Published

2 days ago

September 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.

No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.

About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.

Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.

Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.

A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Source link

Business

Transat AT reports $39.9M Q3 loss compared with $57.3M profit a year earlier

Published

2 days ago

September 12, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.

The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.

The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.

Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)

Source link