Retail News CRM

Tag: jewellery

  • Luk Fook same store sales down 26 pct in SARs for fiscal Q3

    Luk Fook same store sales down 26 pct in SARs for fiscal Q3

    Hong Kong-listed jewellery retailer Luk Fook Holdings (International) Ltd. saw a 26 per cent year-on-year decrease in its same store sales from Hong Kong and Macau shops for the three months ended December 2015, the biggest decline since the final quarter of 2014.

    During the third quarter fiscal, Luk Fook saw a decline of same store sales of 26 per cent year-on-year in gold from its shops in both Hong Kong and Macau, while that of gem-set jewellery fell 27 per cent, the company told the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after trading hours on Wednesday.

    The exact sales revenue figures were not disclosed in the retailer’s Wednesday filing, and the sales performance disclosed by the company only covered sales from its self-operated shops, while the sales of licensed shops and e-commerce business was excluded.

    The same store sales of Luk Fook’s group-wide retail business was down 25 per cent in the fiscal third quarter, as the retailer also saw a drop of 10 per cent in its shops in Mainland China.

    According to the filing, Luk Fook blamed the sales decline in the third quarter on ‘continuing overall sluggish retail sentiment’ and a relatively high base in sales figures.

    As at the end of last year, Luk Fook ran 96 self-operated shops on the Mainland, 47 shops in Hong Kong, 10 in Macau and 6 overseas. The jewellery retailer ran another 1,261 licensed shops on the Mainland and in Korea.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Jewellery retailers bearish on sales for CNY holiday

    Jewellery retailers bearish on sales for CNY holiday

    Retailers Chow Sang Sang and Seng Fung both reckon the fall trend in jewellery sales seen in 2015 will last until the upcoming holiday

    The fall trend seen in jewellery sales last year will persist all the way through the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday in February, and more shop consolidations or a halt of retail expansion are likely to happen under the bearish outlook on sales, said jewellery retailers. Mr Lau Hak Bun, general manager of retail operations (Greater China) at the jewellery retailer Chow Sang Sang Holdings International Ltd, told media yesterday after attending a Hong Kong radio programme of his bearish forecast for sales for the coming Chinese New Year holiday, with a likely register of “single-digit” drop in sales for Hong Kong and Macau.

    The Chinese New Year holiday this year will fall on the second week of February.

    Speaking to media, Mr Lau has noted that sales during Christmas have failed to stimulate overall sales for Chow Sang Sang, which has already seen a fall trend since the first half of 2015. Chow Sang Sang saw its same store sales in Hong Kong and Macau decline by 12 percent year-on-year for the first half of last year as the consumption sentiment from mainland Chinese clients weakened and the unit selling price of the company’s jewellery items decreased, Mr Lau said.

    The gaining strength of the US dollar and the depreciation of Southeast Asian currencies will also affect visitors’ high-end spendings in Hong Kong this year, the jewellery retailer executive expected. Lee Koi Ian, general manager at local jewellery retailer Seng Fung Jewellery Co Ltd, shared a similar sales outlook with Mr Lau.

    “The recent drop in gold prices has not really stimulated much of our sales,” Mr Lee told Business Daily, “Since last year, the sales of jewellery has weakened a lot as we have seen much less gift hunting [from mainland Chinese shoppers] and spending from gamblers.”
    Declining to give a full sales figure for last year, Mr Lee said Seng Fung has suffered a “double-digit” drop in its turnover for the whole year.
    “Visitors’ traffic did improve a bit during the Christmas holiday, but still on a year-on-year basis, we saw our sales register a single-digit drop,” Mr Lee said.

    For the first three quarters of 2015, notable decline is seen in the sales of watches and jewellery here: the value of the retail sales of watches and jewellery has dropped by 26.1 percent year-on-year to MOP10.15 billion in the period, latest available data from Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) shows.

    Cautious outlook
    In response to the weaker sales performance, both Chow Sang Sang and Seng Fung said that they are not going to offer steep discounts for the promotion of sales of their products.

    “But we’ll be more cautious in our shop expansion plan,” Mr Lee said, “In the coming one or two years, we don’t think we are having more shops in casinos.”

    Currently Seng Fung runs eight shops across Macau, mostly on streets. In Chow Sang Sang’s interim report filed in September last year, the retailer has already mentioned that one street-level shop in Macau was closed at the expiry of its lease. Now Chow Sang Sang runs four shops in Macau, of which three are in casino-resorts.

    The Hong Kong-listed jewellery retailer does not rule out more shop consolidation or even closures to happen, Mr Lau noted to media yesterday. Chow Sang Sang has already closed two stores last year, one in Causeway Bay and another in Kwai Fong.

    Lees ook:

  • Here’s Why All That Glitters Is Not Gold In China Jewelry Market

    Here’s Why All That Glitters Is Not Gold In China Jewelry Market

    Market reports on Wednesday claim that Jewelry manufacturing and retail industry are among the worst hit sectors in China due to a slowdown in the country’s economic growth. Shuibei, which was once the mecca for Jewelry retail and production in China, is now feeling the heat in terms of declining number of consumer visits due to the economic uncertainty in China.

    Among the most pertinent reasons for slumping gold demand in China are the economic slowdown as well as the government’s anti-corruption drive which has resulted in low demand for luxury items. However, the most worrisome sign for Chinese gold market is the fact that the consumers have started to become wary of the prevailing economic uncertainty. The shaken consumer confidence is likely to hit the Chinese gold market, which is also the largest market in world for the precious metal.

    Analysts say that China is entering the maturity phase of its economic cycle after growing exponentially for the last few decades. As the economic growth slows down, there may be uncertainty regarding how the government and certain sectors deal with it. This situation has been made worse by the devaluation of Chinese yuan by the People’s Bank Of China (PBOC) in August. The yuan has suffered a constant decline since and some analysts believe that this might be a deliberate step by the Chinese government.

    The gold prices are already languishing at a six-year low due to global economic uncertainty. Therefore, with China and India, the largest and second largest gold markets going soft, it would only mean more trouble for the global gold prices.

    Many of the businesses in the Shuibei district of Shenzhen have suffered a slump in trade due to the current gloomy economic growth forecast for China. This is happening due to a shift in customer confidence from being enthusiastic to wary.

    According to Wang Zhichang, regional manager of Glory Gold store, the demand for gold is unlikely to pick up anytime soon due to the fact that consumers have lost confidence in the precious metal. Therefore, it is quite possible that the revenue in the Chinese gold industry may fall in 2016 at least 10%. The revenue of Chinese gold market overall has seen a plunge of almost 20% in the current year.

    Mr. Wang also claims that due to the worsening gold market conditions in China, a number of factories had shut their operations in the last 12 months. The impact of the current slump in Chinese economy on local gold market is so widely spread that even the nationwide huge gold retail chains like Chow Tai Fook are forced to close outlets and cut down future store openings.Chow Tai Fook, the largest gold retailer in China in terms of market value, had to suffer a 42% plunge in net profit for the period from April to September 2015. This has forced the company to plan opening of only 60 stores in China in its current financial year which ends in March 2016, instead of the originally planned 150 outlets.

    A representative of Chow Tai Fook opined that the customers had become more rational with their choices and purchases in the recent times. This translates into the pressure under which the Chinese gold industry is at the moment.

    CBN opines that it was only a matter of time before the worse impacts of the economic slowdown in China began to reflect on the country’s booming gold market. With the prices of gold falling on a global level and the economic uncertainty in China, the gold market was always going to suffer. We believe that as the growth in Chinese economy slows down due to the country entering the maturity stage of its economic progression, the consumers are likely to become more wary of making bold acquisitions.

    We believe that Chinese customers are likely to want an added value for the transactions they make in the current circumstances. With the gold prices falling globally, the sense of security of holding on to a precious metal is no longer going to be the driving force for its purchase. Furthermore, doubts over economic growth are likely to force the hand of Chinese consumers towards basic necessities more than luxury acquisitions. Therefore, the struggle in the gold market in China is likely to continue at least for the coming couple of years.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Luk Fook latest to warn of falling profit

    Luk Fook latest to warn of falling profit

    Luk Fook has become the second major jewellery retailer this week to warn shareholders of a severe impact on its bottom line.

    In a filing with the stock exchange yesterday, Luk Fook said it anticipated a decline of about 40 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.

    The company said the drop was primarily due to declining gem-set jewellery product revenue, a fall in the overall gross margin as a result of increased sales mix of gold products driven by the small-scale “gold rushes” and a higher rent to revenue ratio.

    Expanded losses in investments in relation to Hong Kong Resources Holdings and its subsidiary also contributed.

    Earlier this week rival jeweller Chow Tai Fook warned of a profit plunge as high as 50 per cent citing similar reasons.

  • Chow Tai Fook in profit plunge

    Chow Tai Fook in profit plunge

    Listed Hong Kong jeweller Chow Tai Fook has warned shareholders its first half profit is likely to be 50 per cent less than for the same period last year.

    In a statement filed with the stock exchange, the board said the decrease is mainly attributable to the year-on-year decline in revenue brought about by weak consumer sentiment in Hong Kong and Macau and a tighter gross profit margin.

    The margin was impacted by both a change in the product mix with increased sale of gold products and unrealised hedging losses on gold loans for the period contrasting with an unrealised hedging gain in the same period last year.

    “As the company is in the process of preparing the interim results of the group for the six months ended 30 September, the information contained in this announcement is only based on the preliminary review of the company’s management accounts which have not been reviewed or audited by auditors of the company.”

    The size of the decline comes as something of a surprise, given the company revealed a four per cent increase in sales in the quarter to September 30 just four weeks ago.

    Back then Chow Tai Fook described the Hong Kong and Macau retail market as “continuing lacklustre”.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Gold retailer Degussa opens Singapore branch

    Gold retailer Degussa opens Singapore branch

    Degussa, one of Europe’s largest gold and precious metals retailer, is opening a branch in Singapore, its first outside Europe.

    With the opening of the 3,000-square-foot branch near Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station on Wednesday evening, Degussa hopes to capture the growing retail market for gold and precious metals not only in Singapore but also in Asia.

    “Singapore is not yet a big wholesale market (for gold) like Hong Kong is, but we bank on retail clients and Singapore is an ideal market to start with,” said Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, chief executive officer of Degussa, in an interview with The Business Times on Wednesday morning at its Singapore branch.

    The Singapore branch will offer a range of physical bullion products, including gold, silver and platinum coins of various weights, and investment bars.

    It will also retail gift collection items, including pure gold cufflinks and gold watches, in a specially designed showroom.

    In addition, the branch also offers safe deposit box rental services for customers who wish to safekeep their valuables with Degussa.

    Degussa aims to start its online store for the Singapore market in two weeks’ time. It also plans to allow customers to cash in their scrap gold in the near future.

    Mr Wrzesniok-Rossbach highlighted the strong and timeless appeal that gold has for Asian consumers, and said that sales of jewellery and accessories will be a key segment of the Singapore branch’s operations. For example, customers who hope to gift their children or grandchildren will find something to their liking at the branch.

    “Because this same gold has been recycled over millennia and its value remains,” he said, pointing to a Degussa 1kg gold bar. “When you touch this, you have one atom in it that came from Cleopatra’s crown.”

  • Singapore Jewellery & Gem Fair opens doors on 2015 showcase

    Singapore Jewellery & Gem Fair opens doors on 2015 showcase

    The Singapore Jewellery & Gem Fair opened its doors yesterday (October 22), offering more than 100,000 pieces of fine jewellery from a number of exhibitors.

    The four-day event, which is now in its third year, is open to casual shoppers, serious investors and trade buyers.

    As the most significant fine jewellery exhibition in the region, the event covers a space equivalent to 200 tennis courts. Around 100,000 pieces of fine jewellery will be on display across 10 product-themed and country pavilions.

    International fine jewellery exhibitors include manufacturers and wholesalers from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and the US.

    The event is exclusively endorsed by the Singapore Jewellers Association (SJA) and the Diamond Exchange of Singapore (DES).

    The Singapore Jewellery & Gem Fair 2015 is open from October 22-25 at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Halls A & B. Admission is free.

  • Lao Feng Xiang plans 20 Hong Kong stores

    Lao Feng Xiang plans 20 Hong Kong stores

    Lao Feng Xiang, the Chinese jewellery brand few in the west have ever heard of, is planning to open 20 stores in Hong Kong.

    Lured by the prospect of cheaper rents in high profile locations as Hong Kong’s luxury sector enters a decline, Lao Feng Xiang sees the foray as an opportunity to build its brand awareness outside the mainland.

    Lao Feng Xiang, controlled by the Shanghai Government, has a 167 year history in the mainland – and has a 3000 strong store network. It entered Hong Kong in May and now has two stores trading. Marketing manager Wang Ensheng told Bloomberg that as many as 20 will be trading within a few years.

    “The fact that Lao Feng Xiang opened stores in Hong Kong boosted our reputation,” Wang told Bloomberg in a telephone interview. “Mainland consumers know that we are now a player in this international jewelry hub.

    “This year is the best time to enter Hong Kong, an opportunity that we have waited for years.”

    The first Lao Feng Xiang store opened in Tsim Sha Tsui, an 80sqm boutique which sold more than HK$100 million of jewellery on its opening day.

    Shanghai flagship store in the year 1999

    “Hong Kong is a key market in our internationalisation strategy. We provide more diversified selections at the Tsim Sha Tsui store than any of our 2800 stores on the mainland,” said Wang at the time of the opening.

    “The logic is simple – we want to attract more young people to our fold,” he said.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Lama Hourani opens Shanghai boutique

    Lama Hourani opens Shanghai boutique

    Jordanian jeweller Lama Hourani has opened an exclusive boutique in Shanghai.

    But it’s been positioned as so exclusive, customers cannot enter without a prior appointment.

    Lama Hourani’s exquisite silver and gold jewellery creations are creating a stir in Asia, underpinning her rising fame as a celebrity designer in Asia. Her creations are worn by royalty, the glitterazzi and even the Pope.

    The new store is on the ground floor of a historic house in Shanghai’s French Concession. Its decor is like something from a book celebrating Arabian design: gold and marble plinths, deep blue carpet, black and white images on the walls depicting minorities, gold framed mirrors.

    “I opened [the boutique] because people in China were just so curious…The handmade aspect is special, and it’s a major plus for me to have a proper presence here.”

    Hourani these days lives in Shanghai so it is no surprise she chose the vibrant, modern city for her first retail presence. But she is also a regular visitor to Hong Kong, presenting exclusive curations of her designs to customers – again by appointment only.

    “My clients are from all over the world and are usually independent, self-established, culturally curious women… China has so much of that,” she said in a recent interview.

    “If you are talking about demographics, those who are well-travelled, the crème de la crème, they all want to wear a statement piece that says something, rather than something that makes them belong somewhere. A lot of customers in China are beyond that first stage.”

    In Hong Kong, Lama Hourani’s luxury jewellery is sold through Joyce and the website Plukka.com – as well as her own website.

    Having established a solid reputation in jewellery, Hourani says her next focus is to expand the brand into other categories: homewares is an obvious first extension.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Boucheron Singapore store opens

    Boucheron Singapore store opens

    Paris jeweller Boucheron has opened its first store in Singapore.

    Boucheron Singapore is among several new boutiques recently opened inside The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.

    Designed to reflect the famous jewellery brand’s Parisian flagship boutique at 26 Place Vendome, the Singapore store has a sumptuous, luxurious feel to highlight the timeless, elegant nature of its jewellery creations.

    The boutique was opened with a cocktail function early this month where more than 100 guests got the chance to view an exclusive Boucheron jewellery collection flown in from France.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Chow Tai Fook changes strategies to tackle tough market

    Chow Tai Fook changes strategies to tackle tough market

    Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group is renegotiating store rents and consolidating its retail network in order to manage rental costs, chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun said on Thursday.

    Amid a downturn in the city’s retail landscape, the largest Hong Kong-listed jeweller in terms of market capitalisation had also shifted focus to smaller-priced items to attract customers, Cheng said.

    Business is getting tougher for retailers, with sales in July dropping 2.8 per cent from a year earlier to HK$37.6 billion, following a 0.4 per cent fall in June. The drop in July was the biggest since March’s decline of 2.9 per cent.

    Sales of jewellery, watches, clocks and gifts all recorded a smaller decrease of 5 per cent, after four months of double-digit falls.

    “There are a number of external factors that are out of our control, such as the macroeconomic conditions, the central government’s policies and the devaluation of China’s currency,” Cheng said. “What we can do is do our best to operate the business well.

    “While we are still making profits in all of our [Hong Kong] stores, we may consider cutting some to maximise profits. For example, if we have three shops on one street, we may opt for two in order to cut costs.”

    Facing a sluggish retail market, commercial landlords are now willing to set more realistic prices and reduce rents.

    Cheng said the company was renegotiating with landlords to lower rents and the extent of rent cuts would depend on the business performance of the store concerned, said Cheng, suggesting the average cut could be between 20 and 30 per cent.

    Chow Tai Fook in June reported net profit for the year ended March fell about 25 per cent to HK$5.46 billion from the previous year.

    Revenue dropped 17 per cent to HK$64.28 billion.

    The average selling price of gem-set jewellery fell 12.7 per cent and that of gold products declined 1.2 per cent.

    The company extended its e-commerce network to strengthen its capability to reach more online customers, particularly the younger generation, said Cheng, adding the online division was making profits.

    He was speaking at an event to mark the company’s unveiling of a diamond piece centred on a 24 D-colour internally flawless diamonds cut from a 507.55 carat rough diamond, known as the Cullinan Heritage, that Chow Tai Fook acquired for HK$275 million in 2010.

  • Chow Sang Sang local sales slide

    Chow Sang Sang local sales slide

    Jeweller Chow Sang Sang has reported a 12 per cent slump in same store sales in Hong Kong and Macau during the first half of this year.

    But the company’s total sales slipped just one per cent and its profit rose 40 per cent during the six months, due to its disposal of shares in Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. Operating profit was down about 12 per cent.

    The company said while official records show a 5.9 per cent increase in the number of visits to Hong Kong by Mainland Chinese in the first five months, “actual spending by these visitors did not bring much cheer to the luxury retail sector”.

    “Negative sentiments towards cross-border traders and even mainland visitors probably cast a pall over shopping activities. Exchange rate fluctuations caused price differences that made it worthwhile for consumers from the mainland, and even those from Hong Kong, to shop in Japan and Europe for luxury goods.”

    During the half, Chow Sang Sang closed its Metroplaza store in Kwai Chung, but expanded its store in Elements, West Kowloon and converted the fitout to the company’s new generation shop design.

    The company said Macau was especially hard hit by the anti-graft campaigns and the measure to restrict funds outflow. One street-level store was closed there at the expiry of its lease.

    “On the Mainland, the slowing growth in the economy, the continued anti-corruption and austerity drive affected high-ticket spending, but in general the retail sector was healthy.”

    The jeweller opened 21 stores during the half taking its reach to 102 cities. Ten underperforming stores were closed for a net gain of 11 and a total network of 333.

    The company says in the months ahead it will continue to closely monitor its inventory levels. It has revamped its online shops both for the Mainland and Hong Kong and online sales continue to grow.

    “We are making progress in facilitating our online customers to take advantage of the network of physical stores.”

    In Hong Kong the company has acquired space in Citywalk, Tsuen Wan, to open a Rolex and Tudor store.

    The existing store in the same mall shall cease to operate its watch counters.

    In China 18 stores are planned between now and Christmas, along with several refitting and closings.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Pandora takes over Asia stores

    Pandora takes over Asia stores

    Resurgent mass market jewellery brand Pandora has chosen to take back its operations in three Asian markets.

    Singapore-based Norbreeze Group has been running the stores in Singapore, Macau and the Philippines. Pandora Group will take control from January 1, 2016.

    Norbreeze Group revealed it had finalised an agreement with the Pandora Group in a postscript to its announcement it was bringing the Joe and the Juice brand to Singapore later this year.

    January 1 is when the Norbreeze group’s distribution rights in the region will naturally expire, ensuring a smooth transition, the Singaporean company said.

    “It is a natural next step for us to hand off the highly-successful Pandora network that we have built across Southeast Asia, providing an established business built for durable success when The Pandora Group takes over the reins in the new year,” said Anders Peter Juel Sauerberg, Group CEO of Norbreeze.

    Norbreeze Group has more than 60 direct and indirect operated stores and distributes to more than 300 stores across Southeast Asia, and says it will continue to drive excellence in brand and operational development in integrated retailing, distribution and sales for its portfolio of international accessible luxury brands.

    Lees ook:

  • Luk Fook opens Causeway Bay flagship

    Luk Fook opens Causeway Bay flagship

    Luk Fook Holdings has opened a three-storey Lukfook Jewellery flagship store in Causeway Bay.

    The group held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new store this week, inviting Japanese cartoon character Rilakkuma to join in the celebrations.

    Wong Wai Sheung, chairman and CEO of Luk Fook said the three storey shop is located in the central area of Causeway Bay, “a shopping hotspot with high pedestrian flow”.

    “We believe that the opening of new shop at a prominent location not only expands our sales network, but also brings convenience to the tourists and local customers for their leisure shopping in Hong Kong. As a globally renowned jewellery brand, the group will continue to optimise the retail network in Hong Kong and provide high-quality jewellery products and excellent services for customers.”
    Featuring prominent three storey tall mega billboard advertising, the store is decorated with luminous materials, such as mirrors and metal steel, with leather interspersed throughout the shop to create a more distinct three-dimensional and multi-layered effect and “a soft yet noble and elegant shopping environment”.

    The first floor of the shop features a ‘Western Wedding Zone’ in the warm, romantic pink tone to display a wide variety of wedding jewellery products. New couples and their families can select wedding jewellery in a comfortable and spacious environment. In addition, our professional sales team offers professional advice, and provides caring value-added services including providing shawl of Chinese-style dress to match with the selected gold jewellery, and free on-site engraving services, etc, for customers to enjoy a superior shopping experience.

    The store is located on the Ground, 1st and 2nd floors of 499 Hennessy Rd.

  • Chow Tai Fook wins 40 per cent rent cut

    Chow Tai Fook wins 40 per cent rent cut

    Jeweller Chow Tai Fook has reportedly re-signed a retail shop rental lease at a 40 per cent reduction.

    It’s a rent reduction which will energise the retail sector, but not doubt send shivers through Hong Kong’s property community.

    Several listed luxury retailers have in recent months been openly discussing expectations of reduced rents when re-negotiating with landlords over lease renewals. Their expectations are grounded in falling sales of luxury goods resulting from Mainland China;s gift-giving crackdown and a reduction in the number of cashed up, big spending Chinese tourists hitting the territory.

    But the sort of reductions being discussed have ranged between 10 and 20 per cent.

    According to Ming Pao, Chow Tai Fook has renewed the lease on its Mong Kok Bank centre branch – shops 6 and 7, on the ground floor.

    The previous rent agreed was $1.3 million in 2012. The new rent rate is 40 per cent lower. Other terms, such as the lease term, have not been disclosed.

    Lees ook: