Same-store sales fall for Chow Tai Fook

Jeweller Chow Tai Fook says same-store sales in its Hong Kong home market and Macau fell by 11 per cent in the June quarter.

But sales in Mainland China rose by the same percentage.

Sales volume fell by 14 per cent in Hong Kong and Macau and by 3 per cent on the mainland, while the value of retail sales rose 24 per cent on the mainland and fell 6 per cent on local markets.

“The Hong Kong and Macau market was affected by a tough base of comparison and cautious consumer sentiment amid an uncertain macro environment,” the company said in a stock-exchange filing.

Sales of gem-set jewellery fell by 16 per cent in Hong Kong and Macau during the quarter as consumers held back on spending.

The difference in volume growth verses sales growth reflects consumers opting for less expensive purchases in a period when the gold price was relatively flat.

The company opened 119 points of sale in Mainland China during the quarter: 113 bearing the Chow Thai Fook Jewellery banner, three Monologue stores, and three SoInLove stores. It closed three CTF Watch stores and one Hearts on Fire store. In other markets, it opened three Chow Tai Fook Jewellery stores – in Singapore, South Korea and the Philippines, and closed four Hearts on Fire stores in Taiwan. At the end of June the store network totalled 3248, up by 114 over the previous quarter.