Hey big spender! Hong Kong jewellery, cosmetics retailers want you to spend some more time (and money) with them
- Chow Tai Fook, Luk Fook and Sa Sa sales fall off in October-December period
- Retailers report that mega bridge and high-speed rail have not driven up sales
Sales at some of Hong Kong’s best known jewellery and cosmetics retailers sagged in the final three months of 2018, as consumer sentiment weakened and the new mega bridge and high speed rail between the mainland and the city failed to whisk in a lot of big spenders.
Chow Tai Fook, the world’s largest listed jeweller by market value, said that October-December sales in Hong Kong and Macau were down by 6 per cent, compared to the sales in the same period the year before.
It was even a more painful three months for Hong Kong jeweller Luk Fook. It saw sales in Hong Kong and Macau of gold products drop by 9 per cent and of gem-set jeweller products fall by 8 per cent, in the comparable October-December period.
Meanwhile, sales at Hong Kong-listed cosmetics retailer Sa Sa International slipped 2.2 per cent in the October-December period compared to the same period the year before, with same-store sales in Hong Kong and Macau down 3.7 per cent, it said.
“The opening of the two infrastructures has no doubt stimulated market sentiment by attracting more tourists from mainland China,” said Estella Ng, deputy chairman, chief strategy officer and chief financial officer of Tse Sui Luen Jewellery. “Yet most of them are day trippers who are more inclined to spend on daily necessities and cosmetics of lower prices. The effect on jewellery and luxuries has yet to be seen.”
