Chow Tai Fook reveals massive China expansion plan

Chow Tai Fook opened 233 stores in Mainland China in the first half – and is planning another 400 next financial year. The Hong Kong-listed jeweller is targeting shopping malls for its new stores, and second-tier cities. The latest additions took the company’s global network to 2822, with 2682 of those located on the mainland. By the end of the 2020 financial year, the company will have more than 3000 stores on the mainland alone.

In Hong Kong and Macau, the network remained stable during the first half, the company closing one store in Hong Kong’s tourist district and opening another in a residential neighbourhood targeting locals.

The jeweller has reported robust growth of 20 per cent year-on-year backed by the buoyant consumer demand. Same-store sales in Hong Kong and Macau soared 24.4 per cent in what the company described as “stellar” growth, driven by gold products, gem-set jewellery and platinum/karat gold products.

On the mainland, same-store sales were up 4.9 per cent. Core operating profit rose 24.7 per cent to HK$2.989 billion.

However the company has warned of a slowdown in sales growth in the second half of the year “as the escalating comparison base, rising US-China trade tensions and foreign exchange fluctuations could cloud the performance”.

Meanwhile, the company says its new jewellery retail brand Monologue, targeting younger customers, is going well and the T Mark diamond brand achieved a 134 per cent increase in sales in Mainland China and 156 per cent increase in Hong Kong and Macau.