RECOVERING CONSUMER SPENDING DRIVES RETAIL SALES - OSK.

from BERNAMA, The Malaysian National News Agency KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- OSK Research Sdn Bhd said stronger results in the second quarter of 2010 recorded by retail companies were not due to low base effect but were in fact driven by recovering consumer spending.

Recovering consumer spending helped retail companies to record higher sales despite them scaling down on advertising and promotion (A&P) expenses, the research firm said in its research note today.

"The effect of higher sales but lower A&P expenses was reflected in their widening margins …