Luk Fook sales in the third quarter fell 10 per cent on a same-store basis. “Recent market sentiment has been adversely impacted by the US-China trade war, the depreciation of Renminbi, and downward pressure in the stock and property markets,” said chairman Wai Sheung Wong ina stock exchange filing. Luk Fook says same-store sales of gold products fell by 9 per cent and of gem-set jewellery by 8 per cent.
The company’s disappointing figures come in the same week as rival jeweller Chow Tai Fook reported an 11 per cent decline in sales across Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Wong said the Renminbi’s depreciation led to higher tendency for customers to purchase lower-value items, resulting in a double-digit drop in the average selling price of gem-set jewellery products.
Same-store Luk Fook sales in Mainland China fell by 14 per cent, with gold products down 16 per cent and gem-set jewellery down 5 per cent.
As at December 31 the company operated 221 of its own Lukfook stores, including 150 on the mainland, 49 in Hong Kong, 11 in Macau and 11 overseas. It supplied 1573 licensed shops on the mainland, one in Cambodia and one in the Philippines, making a total of 1796 worldwide.