Sales of clothes, consumer electronics and second-hand goods boom in Sweden as retail sales recover.

• ‘Swedish economy on the road to recovery’
• Swedes richer than ever
• Fashion giant H&M; to open 180 new stores

The retail trade sales volume in Sweden increased by 2.7 percent in May compared to the same month last year, boosted by strong sales of clothes, furniture and second-hand goods, the statistics office said.

“The recovery from last year’s slowdown for durables continues to provide good sales increases while consumables continue to show a weak development”, the Swedish Retail Institute wrote in a comment to the figures.

Sales of consumer electronics and home hardware grew with 14.2 and 10.1 percent respectively.

Durables -- such as clothing stores, furniture stores, second-hand goods stores and mail order houses -- increased by 6.8 percent while goods sold in department stores and specialised grocery stores only rose 0.7 percent.

“Retail sales developed well during the month of May but the difference is big between consumer goods and durable goods”, the Swedish Retail Institute said. "The weak performance of food is surprising but is likely to be explained by a recovery in durable goods and other industries that had a poor development during last year".

“For the remainder of the year comparative figures are much more difficult and combined with future interest rate rises this will slow down sales development during summer and autumn”.

Last week Swedish cheap'n'chic fashion group Hennes & Mauritz posted net profit of 5.2 billion kronor, an increase of 25 percent. But weak May sales made the market disappointed and the stock share dived in Stockholm trading.

"H&M; remains positive towards the future expansion and the company’s business opportunities", the company said in its report and said it plans to open 180 new stores.