Retail sales in Spain grew by 6.6 per cent in September compared to the same month a year earlier, driven primarily by food sales, which grew 7.7 per cent during the period.
The latest data from INE, the Spanish statistical office, shows that sales were also higher month-on-month, rising 7.3 per cent compared to August, although in this case the increase was driven mainly by a 16.2 per cent rise in sales of non-food products, linked to the back to school period.
Food sales were down 3.3 per cent compared to August, the statistics showed.
Sales from large stores (stores above 2,500 square metres) were 11 per cent ahead of the previous year, again driven by food sales, which were 12.8 per cent higher in September 2003 than in the same month of 2002.
But large store sales dropped by 7.2 per cent compared to August 2003, a regular occurrence according to INE. Food sales were 10.7 per cent lower month-on-month, while the decline for non-food products was lower at 3.2 per cent.
All of Spain's autonomous regions showed good annual growth, the figures show, with Murcia (11.2 per cent) and Rioja (10.9 per cent) topping the list. Castilla y Leon (3.4 per cent and Madrid (4.3 per cent) showed the lowest gains.
Spain's large retailers have been fiercely criticised for many years for destroying smaller store operators there, but the latest figures from INE show that the retail sector remains one of the country's biggest employers, with the number of employees rising by 3.7 per cent in the third quarter of the year - and by 8.4 per cent at the largest outlets alone - compared to the same period a year earlier.
There were also increases between quarters, with total retail employee numbers rising 0.5 per cent between the second and third quarters. Large stores increased their staff numbers by 2.2 per cent during the same period.
Only the Balearic Islands and Melilla showed a decline in retail employee numbers during the third quarter, although Castilla y Leon, Madrid, La Rioja, Ceuta and Melilla all registered falls compared to the previous quarter.