Woolworths Remains Cautious As Food Sales Grow Nearly 10%

South Africa's most premiumised grocery retailer Woolworths has followed Shoprite and Pick 'n' Pay in putting out a cautious view on the South African consumer as the 2009 recession continues to hangover. This is very much in line with BMI's near term view on consumer spending. Real private consumption growth is expected to come in well below Real GDP growth in 2010 with weak household finances and the highest official unemployment rate in the world (at about 25%) supporting discretion-heavy expenditure.

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