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Tag: I.T.

  • Mainland China, US and Japan fuel I.T Group sales growth

    Mainland China, US and Japan fuel I.T Group sales growth

    I.T Group sales slipped in the company’s home market, but the fashion retailer is achieving high growth in Mainland China, the US and Japan. Unaudited sales data for the three months to November show an 8.5 per cent year-on-year improvement in Japan and the US and 6.8 per cent growth on the mainland. Hong Kong and Macau sales slipped by 1.8 per cent in the same period.

    Figures for the nine months to November are even better in the US and Japan, up 11.1 per cent, while sales growth in the home market reached 4.8 per cent and on the mainland 1 per cent.

    I.T Group operates its own brands, including Chocoolate and 5cm, concept stores Izzue and Double-Park; international brands it has local licences for including Kurt Geiger and Camper; and A Bathing Ape, which the company rescued from Japanese owners in 2011.

    Chairman Sham Kar Wai said “complex macroeconomic conditions” affected the business in all three regions during the third quarter.

    “Our Hong Kong and Macau operations registered negative same-store sales growth as a result of multiple typhoons, and weaker consumption appetite during the period. In contrast, our Mainland China business delivered positive same-store sales growth, and our Japan and  the US regions continued to progress on a positive trend.”

    He said the group continued to execute measures to safeguard its gross margin, including holding back discounting.

    “However, enhancements to gross margin was overshadowed by the negative impact of the depreciation of currencies of our merchandise purchase. As a result, gross margin decreased during the period.”

    Sham Kar Wai said the company has been even more cautious about the overall operating environment over the last few months, as the recent escalation of trade dispute between Mainland China and the US has cast “greater uncertainties on the future economic outlook”. “Moreover, the warm weather in Hong Kong and Macau may further weigh negatively on the consumer spending momentum across the region.”

  • Exclusives for I.T’s 30th anniversary

    Exclusives for I.T’s 30th anniversary

    I.T has been in fashion retail in Hong Kong and China for over 30 years, offering a wide designer portfolio.It is renowned for curating collections across international womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, and lifestyle that is tailored meticulously for the Greater China customer.

    At the turn of the century, I.T opened its first China flagship in Shanghai, one of China’s fastest growing markets.

    In 2017, the company launched its multi-brand fashion lifestyle platform ITeSHOP.

    “I.T now sets sight on creating a seamless omni-channel experience that will define the future of fashion” said Kar-Wai Sham, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of I.T Group.

    To envisage the digital landscape that will shape the next 30 years, I.T took the opportunity to invite its community of brands partners and creative talents to share their vision of the future.

    Their perspectives are expressed through a series of exclusive designs, capsule collections, artistic compilations and digital exhibitions that bids the viewer to visualise the future.

    I.T’s 30 th Anniversary Exhibition integrates a see-now-buy-now approach, with live digital kiosks and a shoppable app for exhibition-goers to fully immerse in an authentic digital shopping experience.

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  • I.T Limited sales goes up in China and Japan, but down in HK

    I.T Limited sales goes up in China and Japan, but down in HK

    Solid growth in Japan and China compensate for subdued sales in Hong Kong for fashion retailer I.T Limited.

    While Hong Kong sales slipped 5.1 per cent to HK$3.28 billion, much of that was related to store network rationalisation, with like-for-like sales down just 0.9 per cent. Mainland China sales rose by 10.9 per cent to HK$3.837 billion and in Japan, sales soared 29.3 per cent in Hong Kong currency, or 31.6 per cent in local currency, to HK$945.8 million.

    Total group turnover was up 4.8 per cent to HK$8.383 billion and net profit by 37.1 per cent to HK$431.9 million.

    I.T Group operates its own brands, including Chocolate and 5cm, concept stores Izzue and Double-Park; international brands it has local licences for including Kurt Geiger and Camper; and A Bathing Ape, which the company rescued from Japanese owners in 2011.

    I.T Limited’s total trading area shrunk by just 0.3 per cent in Hong Kong, reflecting the sheer size of its various brands’ network. But the company said the consolidation exercise and controlled discounting initiatives helped profitability. Same-store sales growth turned positive in the second half of the year.

    “The results in our Hong Kong and Macau segment are particularly noteworthy,” said chairman Sham Kar Wai.

    “They are not only due to the fact that Hong Kong is the home of the group and is one of the leading fashion marketplaces in Asia. They also reflected the determined efforts we made to move the business in our Hong Kong and Macau segment into positive territory in the second half of the financial year. We are also particularly encouraged by the recent relevant data showing signs of gradual recovery in the fashion retail industry in Hong Kong.”

    On the mainland, the group now has 492 stores and an online business. While same-store growth of less than 1 per cent was far lower than the previous year’s 17 per cent, it was against an unusually high base.

    I.T Limited is also experiencing solid growth in the US,m where it opened two new stores in Los Angeles.

    “Our business in Japan and the US continued to outperform, and we are particularly gratified that the responses to the two new Los Angeles shops have been overwhelmingly positive.”

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  • I.T group positive sales despite store closures

    I.T group positive sales despite store closures

    Improved consumer sentiment across Greater China and strong sales growth in Hong Kong helped boost third-quarter business for Hong Kong multi-brand fashion group I.T Limited.

    With fewer discounts offered, the group also enhanced its gross margin for the three months to the end of November.

    However, store closures continued in Hong Kong in the face of a persistent upsurge in running costs, causing downward pressure on sales.

    I.T Group operates its own brands, including Chocolate and 5cm, concept stores Izzue and Double-Park; international brands it has local licences for including Kurt Geiger and Camper; and A Bathing Ape, which the company rescued from Japanese owners in 2011.

    While comparable-store sales growth in Hong Kong and Macau rose 2.4 per cent for the quarter, there was a 3.9 per cent dip for the first nine months.

    For Japan and the US, sales growth soared by 25.5 per cent for the quarter and 30.7 per cent for the nine months, while for China the growth was 1.5 and 1.1 per cent respectively.

    Gross profit margin for the quarter was up 1.6 points to 62.9 per cent in Hong Kong and Macau, edging up 0.8 points to 60.9 per cent for the nine months.

    For Japan and the US, the margin fell 0.8 points to 68.9 per cent, and eased 0.1 points to 70.8 per cent for the nine months, while in Mainland China it edged up 0.3 points to 64.8 per cent for the quarter, and rose 2.1 points to 62.8 per cent for the nine months.

    For the group overall, the rise was 1 point to 64.9 per cent for the quarter, and 1.6 points to 63.4 per cent for the nine months.

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  • Bape’s Baby Milo opens Japan, Hong Kong pop ups

    Bape’s Baby Milo opens Japan, Hong Kong pop ups

    Baby Milo has opened a pair of pop-up locations in Tokyo this week, as well as a Hong Kong location over the weekend.

    Parent brand A Bathing Bape has begun opening Baby Milo stores across Japan (Harajuku and Shibuya), Hong Kong and China this past weekend, signalling the Japanese novelty brand’s latest push into major Asian capitals.

    Baby Milo has purposefully built a fully interactive shopping experience, an extension of the ‘retailtainment’ phenomenon sweeping Asia this year.

    The Baby Milo label features plush animal characters centred on the namesake character Milo — a time-traveling monkey who loves to dance and eat bananas, and his friends Alii the Giraffe, Hippo, Baby Doppy, PD, Core the Koala and Elephant Eleph.

    Largely an accessories pop-up, key items on sale include key rings, bags, wallets, small goods, and other assorted accessories.

    The pop-up boutique will also offer up a bevy of soft goods and lifestyle items, alongside some limited-edition seasonal releases such as two Baby Milo Christmas snowglobes.

    The Hong Kong store is decked out with two giant claw arcade games at the entrance and iconic Bape camo, Ape heads and Baby Milos all over the ceiling.

    Baby Milo has stores located in New Town Plaza in Shatin, the I.T flagship store as well as Times Square located in Causeway Bay.

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  • Retail closures add to Wing Tai woes

    Retail closures add to Wing Tai woes

    Costs related to the closure of retail stores were among the factors contributing to reduced second-quarter earnings for Singapore’s Wing Tai Holdings.

    Store closures caused a 12 per cent rise to S$23.8 million in administrative and other expenses quarter-on-quarter, according to a stock exchange filing by the company.

    Lower rental income and depreciation from its Singapore retail outlets also resulted in a 20 per cent fall in distribution expenses to S$22.2 million from S$27.7 million. No dividend was declared for the quarter.

    Wing Tai’s retail division represents the brands Adidas, Fox Kids and Baby, Topshop, BCBGMaxazria, G2000, Topman, Burton Menswear London, I.T., Uniqlo, Dorothy Perkins, Karen Millen, Warehouse, Etam, Pumpkin Patch and Yoshinoya. The company also has hospitality, residential and commercial property interests.

    Also contributing to the second-quarter net profit fall of 85 per cent year-on-year to S$1.08 million were lower contributions from the property development segment and a higher tax rate. These were partially offset by a stronger share of profits from associates/JVs, and lower distribution expenses.

    Overall, the group said earnings had come in below expectations as its operating and sales environment had proved tougher than anticipated. However, it is confident it is well-positioned to ride out the current down-cycle with its portfolio of prime residential and investment assets.

    Cooling measures will continue to weigh on market sentiment in Singapore this year, the group expects, while economic conditions in Malaysia will probably keep sales soft.

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