Israeli stores bounce back strongly from lockdown

May, the first month after lockdown, was an excellent month for those stores in shopping centers and malls that reopened in Israel after the coronavirus pandemic lockdown was relaxed. Overall sales rose 21% in May 2020 compared with May 2019, according to data from RIS - Retail Information Systems, which took figures from 2,850 stores around the country.

However, the figures do not reflect the full picture because many retail chains such as Castro, Hamashbir Lezarchan, Renuar and others declined to open at the beginning of May because they were still in talks with the government about compensation for sales losses during the crisis.

In any event, the rise in store sales in May was not uniform for all settings. In strip malls such as those operated by Big Shopping Centers (2004) Ltd. (TASE:BIG) the rise in sales this May compared with last May was 40% while in 29 closed shopping malls that were examined, the rise in sales was a much more modest 7%. According to RIs, peak sales were on Thursday May 17 with sales climbing before that and tapering off somewhat after that.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 8, 2020