JSE-listed retail stocks rallied yesterday after Statistics South Africa posted an 8.2% year-on-year growth in retail trade sales for November 2017, exceeding market expectations of a 3.5% growth. Mr Price gained 2.21% to trade at R255.79 a share, Truworths strengthened by 3.33% at R91.10 a share, Shoprite was 4.79% higher at R230.53 and Woolworths was 3.45% higher at R61.45. Retail sales in footwear, textiles and leather goods were among the biggest contributors to the year-on-year growth, Stats SA said. Kamilla Kaplan, an analyst with Investec, noted that Black Friday sales had contributed to the retail trade sales growth. “Much of the lift in November is likely to have been derived from Black Friday deals. Black Friday sales were first introduced in November 2016,” said Kaplan.-IOL