Chinese New Year sales for the Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group took a dive in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Unaudited figures for the period, from January 25 to February 14, show the value of retail sales dropped 30 per cent in China and 23 per cent in Hong Kong and Macau – a 29 per cent dip for the group – compared with the previous Chinese New Year.
Same-store sales dropped 31 per cent in China, 22 per cent in Hong Kong/Macau, and 28 per cent for the group. Same-store sales figures were also broken down into product – gem-set jewellery dropped 30 per cent in China, 3 per cent in Hong Kong/Macau, and 20 per cent for the group, while gold products fell 33 per cent in China, 25 per cent in Hong Kong/Macau, and 31 per cent for the group.
Chow Tai Fook says the plunge in China was mainly because of more outbound travel from the mainland during the celebration, and a weakening of consumer sentiment for luxury goods because of the economic slowdown and volatility in the stock market.
It attributes the decrease in Hong Kong and Macau to the drop in mainland tourists to Hong Kong as well as continuing weak retail sentiment in both regions.
“Management anticipates the retail business environment will continue to be challenging for the fourth quarter and the sales performance will be worse than that of the third quarter,” the company said a statement.