Luk Fook’s retail revenue falls in third quarter

Luk Fook posted lower retail revenue in the fiscal third quarter as high gold prices continued to weaken consumer sentiment.

The group’s retail revenue fell 9 percent as Hong Kong and Macau plunged 20 percent and Mainland China soared 27 percent.

Overall same-store sales plummeted 22 percent, with Hong Kong and Macau decreasing 24 percent and Mainland China falling 11 percent.

In terms of products, same-store sales of gold fell 26 percent while fixed-price jewelry slid 7 percent.

During the three months ended March 31, the group saw a net decrease of 65 shops.

Moving forward, the company plans to actively promote non-diamond fixed price jewellery products as demand for diamond products remains weak.

The company also anticipates sales of gold products to resume to normal levels after consumers adapt to high gold prices.

Luk Fook targets to allocate more resources for expansion and add about 15 shops in the overseas markets in the current financial year.

The company forecasts business performance to improve in the second half.