Typhoons fail to dampen Sa Sa International sales

Despite typhoons and poor tourist numbers buffeting sales for discount cosmetics chain Sa Sa International Holdings in its second quarter, it still managed to grow turnover.

Its retail and wholesale turnover increased by 1.1 per cent year on year to HK$1.918 billion (US$245.9 million), the company’s unaudited update shows. Covering the period to September 30, the figures include National Day Golden Week Holiday.

Retail sales in Hong Kong/Macau grew by 2.1 per cent to $1.574 billion, while same-store sales fell by 1.8 per cent following stores being relocated in tourist areas.

“The overall sales performance was below our expectations because of typhoons and poor weather, resulting in weaker store traffic and tourist numbers,” says the company.

There were 4.6 million transactions, down by 1.8 per cent, with those of local and mainland tourists dropping by 1.1 and 2.5 per cent respectively. However, the average transaction value was up by 5.9 and 3.8 per cent respectively.

Turnover grew in other markets – 5.9 per cent for Mainland China, 4.2 per cent for Singapore and 0.5 per cent for Malaysia, while for Taiwan e-commerce improved by 4.1 per cent while turnover had a 15.5 per cent dive.