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Tag: Sales

  • Tesco Lotus Thailand profits down

    Tesco Lotus Thailand profits down

    Falling sales by Tesco Thailand impacted the UK parent company’s first half results released overnight.

    Like-for-like sales across Asia – which also includes the neighbouring Malaysia stores – fell by 4.8 per cent, explained by the company’s decision to exit its unprofitable Tesco Thailand cash-and-carry business.

    But the company’s profit in Asia fell by 29.1 per cent.

    Despite the disappointing numbers, Tesco CEO David Lewis moved to reassure investors that tesco Thailand was still an important focus.

    “In Thailand we’re market leader, it’s still the most profitable part of the group and there’s still significant growth to be had,” he said.

    Tesco reported an operating profit before one-off items of £933 million, which has 24 per cent ahead of the same time last year, but missed analyst expectations of £978 million.

    “I don’t think the market had fully factored in the Asian [business] but we’re really encouraged by the UK,” said Tesco CFO Alan Stewart.

  • H&M India sales jump 49 pc in June-August qtr to Rs 352 crore

    H&M India sales jump 49 pc in June-August qtr to Rs 352 crore

    Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) posted a 49 percent growth in sales in India to 428 million Swedish Krona (around Rs 352 crore) in June-August quarter of 2018.

    While, for the nine-month period (December 2017 to August 2018) H&M India sales reported a 34 percent growth to 1,124 million Swedish Krona (around Rs 924 crore) including VAT compared to the corresponding period.

    H&M, which follows December-November financial year, has added 7 stores during the last nine months in India, totalling to a network of 34 stores.

    The company had posted sales of 178,817 million Swedish Krona in December-August, H&M said in a nine-month report.

    In the June-August quarter, H&M reported a global sales of 64,800 million Swedish Krona.

    During the quarter, H&M’s online sales increased by 32 percent, it added.

    “The group’s online sales increased by more than 30 percent in the third quarter. Today H&M online is in 47 markets and we are continuing at full speed to roll out online globally to all our existing store markets as well as to other markets,” said H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson.

    During the three-month period, Germany was the highest contributor with 9,851 million Swedish Krona sales, followed by USA with 6,869 million Swedish Krona sales. H&M operates 458 and 559 stores in Germany and USA, respectively.

    While, China had a sales of 3,225 million Swedish Krona during the June-August quarter of 2018, where it operates 522 stores.

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  • H&M sales rise during third quarter, despite logistics hitches

    H&M sales rise during third quarter, despite logistics hitches

    Global H&M sales rose 9 per cent during the third quarter to August 31 as the fast-fashion retailer made the most of a new supply chain system put in place in Europe and North America.

    On a constant-currency basis, sales rose by a more modest 4 per cent.

    According to a brief announcement, which did not include any geographical breakdown of the company’s quarterly performance, sales excluding VAT reached SEK 55.821 billion (US$6.26 billion).

    “The H&M group’s continuous transition, to face the major shift within the industry, has contributed to a gradually improved sales development and increased market share in many markets in the third quarter,” the company said.

    “However, sales and cost development in some of the group’s important markets such as the US, France, Italy and Belgium were in the third quarter considerably affected by the issues that emerged during the implementation of new logistics systems in the spring.”

    The new logistics systems enable a faster and more efficient supply chain as well as a continued integration of store and online.

    A more detailed set of figures is expected with the release of nine-month results on September 27.

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  • Samsonite Asia sales experiences positive growth

    Samsonite Asia sales experiences positive growth

    Strong performances throughout Asia helped Samsonite International lift sales by 12.9 per cent in the first half of this year, to US$1.849 billion.

    Samsonite Asia sales across the group’s entire brand portfolio grew 14.4 per cent year on year, behind Latin America’s 17 per cent, but ahead of Europe’s 11.4 per cent.

    Tumi sales rose 16.6 per cent, with Asia the fastest-growing market where sales rose 39.4 per cent. American Tourister sales rose 24.2 per cent.

    Globally, Samsonite’s namesake brand achieved a stunning 50 per cent increase.

    Chairman Tim Parker said the first half of 2018 saw generally better trading conditions and more favourable foreign currency effects globally, which helped the group achieve what was another new record in total sales.

    In Asia, net sales of the American Tourister brand rose by 17.7 per cent during the first half, largely driven by the Cristiano Ronaldo marketing campaign, while the group’s value-conscious, entry-level Kamiliant brand achieved the fastest growth of all of its brands, up 57.5 per cent.

    In Hong Kong, where the company is listed, net sales increased by 28.3 per cent, driven by net sales of the Tumi brand (which included sales to Tumi distributors in some other Asian markets) and by the Samsonite and American Tourister brands. Those brands also drove an 11 per cent increase in sales in Mainland China.

    Sales in Japan, driven by Tumi, American Tourister and Samsonite, grew 18.5 per cent. India was up 17.8 per cent, South Korea by 2 per cent and Australia by 8.7 per cent.

    Group operating profit grew by 24.5 per cent year on year to $201.8 million and adjusted net income by 19.5 per cent to $119.8 million.

    Parker concluded: “This solid performance is not only a testament to the resilience of our multi-brand, multi-category and multi-channel business model and our devolved management structure, it is above all a reflection of the strength of our people. Our business enjoys strong team management at the top, but we also rely on a community of managers around the world and in different functions to ensure prompt and effective execution in response to changes in the marketplace. This collective effort by the experienced people within our company remains one of the keys to our success.”

  • Parkson Asia profit slumps as Vietnam gives disappointing number

    Parkson Asia profit slumps as Vietnam gives disappointing number

    Vietnam operations continue to be at the bleeding edge of Parkson Retail Asia’s ongoing losses.

    The company’s full-year results show declining same-store sales in its department stores in all four markets, with Vietnam the worst performing market. Sales fell 14.6 per cent in the last quarter and by 8.3 per cent over the full year. Sales in Myanmar and Indonesia both fell by 3.8 per cent and in the home Malaysia market by 1.5 per cent.

    Parkson Retail Asia finished the financial year with a pre-tax loss of S$17.6 million for the last quarter and of $40.1 million for the full year. It said that with the exclusion of a gain on the disposal of a subsidiary and allowances for doubtful debts, the reversal of impairments relating to closed stores, the group’s operational pre-tax loss would have been $29.9 million for the year.

    “This reflects the challenging operating environments encountered by the group as evidenced by the overall negative same-store sales growth, while new stores and ventures might require longer gestation period given the aforementioned backdrop.

    “We have been taking active measures in monitoring and assessing the viability of stores and ventures. With ongoing measures in place to rebuild top-line growth and monitor expenditures, coupled with the discontinuance of underperforming stores and ventures this year, the group expects its performance will show improvement in the coming financial year.”

    Addressing the Vietnam problems, the company said the operating environment there remains challenging amidst a crowded retail scene, and “intensive promotional activities had to be carried out to capture sales”.

    It said Indonesia’s sales were impacted by the downsizing of a store in Jakarta, as well as the aftermath of a volcanic eruption in Bali. Excluding those effects, Indonesia would have recorded a lower drop of 2.4 per cent for the year.

    The Myanmar operations were impacted by the closure of the first store at FMI Centre in January last year, with the replacement at Junction Square, Yangon, opening two months later.

    Throughout the network, “against the backdrop of competitive operating environments, we continue to take active measures in monitoring and assessing the viability of our stores and ventures,” the company said.

    While the group added four new stores (including one managed store) to its network, it also took steps to exit seven underperforming stores (including one managed) during the year.

    The company also closed its theme park and education centre operations to curb further losses, and exited its interest in the LOL-branded retail chain.

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  • What’s happening at Pandora?

    What’s happening at Pandora?

    Pandora said it expects to make less sales revenues in 2018, despite plans to open some 250 retail stores globally, of which 25% will be in Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, the ailing Danish jeweller dismissed its CEO last week amid staff cuts of hundreds of employees.

    Anders Colding Friis is stepping down as President and CEO of the company effective as of 31 August 2018. Pandora’s CFO, Anders Boyer, and the newly recruited COO, Jeremy Schwartz, who joins September 1, will be jointly responsible for replace Friis until a new CEO is found, according to a press release from the Copenhagen-based firm.

    Meanwhile, staff cuts operationally will affect 397 globally, including 218 staff in pandoraThailand.

    Pandora adjusted its 2018 financial guidance for 2018 just three days prior, and said the move reflects lacklustre results for the second quarter, as well as weaker than anticipated total like-for-like sales-out growth in July.

    Pandora said new charms have failed to sell as well as expected, adding that a change in inventory levels and a soft performance in the wholesale channel have also made a negative impact on revenues.

    For 2018, expected revenue growth is now 4-7% in local currency from the previously 7-10%. Finally, Pandora said it now expects its earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation margin to be 32%, down 3 percentage points from its previous forecast.

    In the second quarter of this year, sales grew 4 percent in local currency to DKK 4.82bn. The EBTIDA margin was 31.1%, down from 33.4% in the second quarter of 2017.

    Furthermore, Pandora said it expects to add around 50 more concept stores in 2018. Some 60 of these are slated for the Asia-Pacific region.

    In July, Pandora lowered its prices in China across its jewellery collections for instore, online and on Tmall.

    “We are committed to servicing our Chinese customers and are very pleased with the opportunities for continued growth in China,” said Kenneth Madsen, President of Pandora’s Asia Pacific region.

    “This price reduction across our jewellery assortment is one element in our strategic programme to limit grey market trading of our products in China, and continue to enhance our customer experience in the world’s largest jewellery market.”

    Pandora first entered China in 2010, and today has 170 stores in 50 Chinese cities.

  • Thai 7-Eleven number goes down

    Thai 7-Eleven number goes down

    Thai 7-Eleven operator CP All has reported slowing profit growth, despite increased revenue.

    Net profit growth of 2.8 per cent was its weakest quarterly result in years, according to Thomson Reuters. Its net surplus was 4.78 billion baht (US$144.2 million). In the same period a year ago, growth reached 10.8 per cent.

    The company’s gross margin slipped a half percentage point to 27.7 per cent due to higher sales of alcohol, cigarettes and game cards, which have low margins.

    Total sales across the 10,000-strong Thai 7-Eleven store network was 129.7 billion baht, up 7.5 per cent, but the company was impacted by an increase in the minimum wage, rising power prices and higher supply chain costs.

    CP All expects to have 13,000 stores by 2021.

  • Asia’s large format retailers prepare for steady growth

    Asia’s large format retailers prepare for steady growth

    Global research organisation IGD has reported that Asia’s large format retailers are set to grow 3.3 per cent a year to 2022, with Vietnam, India and the Philippines forecast to see double-digit growth from large format players over the next five years.

    Most of this growth is predicted to be driven by domestic retailers, except for Vietnam where foreign retailers have been investing to gain a foothold in this fast-growing market. Indonesia will see steady growth, also driven mainly by domestic players; with China coming through as another market with significant growth opportunities due to its vast geography.

    Many large format retailers in Asia are still enjoying steady growth through expansion although they are facing pressures from increased competition in more developed markets.

    Besides expansion to new regions, retailers are also digitising physical stores to create a seamless shopping experience in more matured markets.

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  • L’Occitane Hong Kong sales rises

    L’Occitane Hong Kong sales rises

    L’Occitane sales rose to HK$2.7 billion (US$344 million) over the last three months.

    The French headquartered, Hong Kong-listed retailer’s as-yet unaudited trading update for the three months ended June 30, shows a rise of 6.2 per cent (reported rates) and 12.3 per cent (constant rates) year-on-year for the three month period.

    The market showing the highest sales growth was the US at 73.7 per cent, attributed to the resurgence of the L’Occitane en Provence brand and LimeLife. Same-store sales grew 0.6 percent year on year.

    Local currency sales in Hong Kong were shown to have risen 25.5 per cent with same-store sales growth as high as 11.1 per cent.

    Detailed financials are expected to appear in the firm’s annual report due at the end of the 2019 financial year.

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  • Asia boosts Swatch Group sales record

    Asia boosts Swatch Group sales record

    An overview of watchmaker Swatch Group’s international business has revealed record half-year sales, largely led by Asia.

    The group’s net sales increased by 14.7 per cent during the first half of this year, with growth in all regions led by Asia and America. Its net income has increased by 66.5 per cent to CHF468 million (US$467 million), with a net margin of 11 per cent, compared to the previous year’s 7.6 per cent.

    Consumer demand, particularly from millennials, for authentic, innovative brand products is greatly increasing on a worldwide scale regardless of region or price segment. The company sees an increasing interest in pre-owned and vintage products as an immense opportunity for the 18 Swatch Group brands.

    Further growth is projected for the second half of this year.

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  • Singapore Sales stays under the Expectations

    Singapore Sales stays under the Expectations

    Falling sales of electronics and apparel muted the overall figure for Singapore retail sales in April.

    The year-on-year headline figure rose by just 0.7 per cent after sales of motor vehicles were excluded from the data. Sales of computers and phones fell by 9.8 per cent, while apparel and footwear sales fell by 3.4 per cent.

    Supermarkets and hypermarkets slipped by 2.3 per cent and department stores by 1.7 per cent.

    Categories which improved were led by petrol service stations, up 8.5 per cent, and medical goods and toiletries, up 7.8 per cent.  Sales of furniture and household goods rose 4.8 per cent.

    Month-on-month retail sales declined 1.7 per cent and Statistics Singapore estimated online shopping accounted for just 4.4 per cent of total retail sales in April.

    Food retailers also had a forgettable month, with total sales falling 1.7 per cent year on year. Within that category, fast-food outlets boosted sales by 5.4 per cent, at the expense of restaurants and cafes, which declined 4.3 per cent.

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  • HK’s Chow Tai Fook FY profit soars 34 pct, in line with forecast

    HK’s Chow Tai Fook FY profit soars 34 pct, in line with forecast

    Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd, China’s largest jeweller by market value, on Thursday reported a 34 percent rise in full-year net profit, buoyed by improving consumer sentiment and an uptick in mainland tourists arrivals.

    Net profit rose to HK$4.10 billion ($521.98 million) for the year ended in March from HK$3.06 billion a year earlier. It was its highest yearly profit in three years. That compared with a HK$4.25 billion forecast by SmartEstimate.

    Revenue for the 12-month period rose 15.4 percent to HK$59.16 billion from HK$51.25 billion in the same period a year earlier.

    Same-store sales of its jewellery business in mainland China rose 8 percent for the year, while that in Hong Kong and Macau climbed 10.2 percent.

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  • Michael Kors sales up 11%, driven by Jimmy Choo revenues

    Michael Kors sales up 11%, driven by Jimmy Choo revenues

    Michael Kors Holdings recorded $1.18bn in the crucial fourth quarter, close to an 11% gain on last year, a revenue result driven most by sales brought in from Jimmy Choo, the luxury shoe business it acquired last summer for $1.2bn.

    Like-for-like sales during the three months to end of March were up 2.3%, besting expectations for a 1% decline, marking the first time in two years that Michael Kors reported a comp sales rise. For the same period last year, comp sales were down 14.1%.

    By brand, Michael Kors sales hit $1.07bn, the rise in sales at its own stores helped offset the decline in wholesale

    Less discounting also boosted operating margins and helped the company swing back into the black. Net income was $44.1m, or 29 cents a share during the quarter, compared to a net loss of $26.8m or 17 cents per share last year.

    For the year, the company reported profit of $591.9 million, or $3.82 per share. Revenue was reported as $4.72 billion.

    In light of sluggish in-store retail sales, Kors has been trying to overhaul its business as shoppers shift many of their purchases online, where there’s an abundance of luxury goods at lower prices.

    The company said it also closed some locations during the quarter, cutting some costs.

    Looking forward, the American company reiterated that it remained on the lookout for further acquisitions following the Jimmy Choo deal.

    “We will continue to explore acquisitions to complement our existing luxury portfolio,” said chairman and chief executive John Idol.

    For the current quarter ending in July, Michael Kors said it expects revenue in the range of $1.14 billion

    The company expects full-year earnings to be $4.65 to $4.75 per share, with revenue expected to be $5.1 billion and flat same-store sales.

  • Smartphone Sales Will Drop for Second Straight Year, IDC Predicts

    Smartphone Sales Will Drop for Second Straight Year, IDC Predicts

    Global smartphone sales are expected to fall for the second year running this year, before  returning to growth next year, according to analysis by the International Data Corporation (IDC).

    In the research house’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone shipments are forecast to drop 0.2 per cent this year to 1.462 billion units, after a 0.3 per cent decline last year. Looking further out, IDC expects the market is to grow roughly 3 per cent annually from next year onwards, with worldwide shipments reaching 1.654 billion in 2022 and a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.5 per cent.

    The biggest driver of last year’s decline was China, where smartphone sales declined 4.9 per cent year-on-year. And the IDC expects sales in China to decline a further 7.1 per cent this year before flattening out next year.

    The biggest growth market in Asia Pacific continues to be India, with volumes expected to grow 14 per cent and 16 per cent this year and next.

    “Chinese OEMs will continue their strategy of selling large volumes of low-end devices by shifting their focus from China to India,” says IDC. “So far, most have been able to get around the recently introduced Indian import tariffs by doing final device assembly at local India manufacturing plants. As for components, almost everything is still being sourced from China.”

    “With 2017 now behind us a lot of interesting market dynamics are unfolding,” says Ryan Reith, program VP with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. “Even though it declined 5 per cent last year, China remains the focal point for many given that it consumes roughly 30 per cent of the world’s smartphones.

    “But plenty of pockets of growth can be found beyond China. India is now grabbing headlines and the market itself is going through some rapid transformation. Local Indian manufacturing continues to ramp up, despite still having a heavy dependence on China for components. The boom in India is likely to continue in the years to come, but the move toward building up local production has certainly caught the eye of many in the industry.”

    Outside of Asia Pacific, the biggest regions for growth will be the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. All three regions have relatively low penetration rates and plenty of upsides, says IDC. Economic challenges have been the main inhibitor over the past two years, but IDC expects consumer spending to rise throughout the forecast and smartphones to be a big benefactor.

    5G opportunity

    The other catalyst to watch will be the introduction of 5G smartphones. IDC predicts the first commercially ready 5G smartphones will appear in the second half of next year with a ramp up across most regions happening in 2020. IDC projects 5G smartphone volumes to account for roughly 7 per cent of all global smartphone sales in 2020 or 212 million in total. The share of 5G devices should grow to 18 per cent of total volumes by 2022.

    “Although overall smartphone shipments will decline slightly this year, the average selling price (ASP) of a smartphone will reach US$345, up 10.3 per cent from the $313 of last year,” said Anthony Scarsella, research manager with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

    “This year will continue to focus on the ultra-high-end segment of the market as we expect a surge of premium flagship devices to launch in developed markets. Devices featuring large Amoled bezel-less displays, advanced camera functions, and an overall increase in speed and performance will be the driving factor in the increase of ASPs. Moving forward, we can expect this trend to continue as the ASP for a smartphone will continue to grow throughout the forecast period. In 2022, the final year of our forecast period, the average selling price for a smartphone will be $362, resulting in a five-year CAGR of 2.9 per cent.”

    Android vs Apple

    Android’s share of t sales is expected to remain relatively stable at 85 per cent of total global smartphone sales. Volumes are expected to grow at a five-year CAGR of 2.5 per cent, with shipments totaling 1.41 billion by 2022.

    “There is no question that Android is the OS of choice for the mass market and nothing leads us to believe this will change,” says IDC. “Given the large number of Chinese OEMs dependent on Google’s OS, as well as components from other US companies like Qualcomm, it will be interesting to see how things develop with all the discussion about a US-China trade war. Android OEMs continue to drive down the cost of new technology features at a rapid pace. IDC estimates that 98 per cent of Android phones will ship with screens larger than five inches by 2022, with 36 per cent being six inches or larger. While some of these will remain premium flagship models, the aggregate ASP of Android phones with a six-inch screen or greater by 2022 is projected to be $414.

    Meanwhile, iPhone volumes are expected to grow 2.6 per cent this year to 221 million. IDC is forecasting iPhones to grow at a five-year CAGR of 2.4 per cent, reaching volumes of 242 million by 2022. With rumors of some upcoming larger screen iOS smartphones, IDC has changed its screen size forecast for Apple by introducing volumes greater than six inches. Products are likely to begin shipping in the fourth quarter of 2018, with volumes ramping up and accounting for 36 per cent of all iPhones shipped by 2022.

  • Ralph Lauren shines bright in Asia, only

    Ralph Lauren has reported another decline in net sales, but the overall results confirm the company is headed in the right direction, albeit slowly.

    The company says its fourth-quarter sales decreased by 2.3 per cent to US$1.5 billion on a reported basis and were down 7 per cent in constant currency, driven by initiatives to increase quality of sales, reduce promotional activity, and elevate our distribution, as well as brand exits and lower consumer demand.

    But that is an improvement on the full-year Ralph Lauren sales figures of a 7 per cent decline to $6.2 billion on a reported basis and 8 per cent in constant currency.

    Fourth-quarter sales in Asia rose by 17 per cent to $257 million on a reported basis and by 11 per cent in constant currency, driven by strength in both retail and wholesale channels. Same-store sales were up 4 per cent.

    That’s significantly better than the full-year figure of 6 per cent on both a reported and constant currency basis to $934 million.

    Ralph Lauren’s big problem is the North American market, where sales continue to fall – in the last quarter, by 13.9 per cent, a greater rate than the 11.4 per cent of the same period a year ago.

    Some of this decline was deliberately engineered as Ralph Lauren reduced sales through wholesale channels that it believes damage its brand.

    “We applaud this corrective effort, though we think there is still much further to go.

    Stores like Macy’s still stock and sell Ralph Lauren product, and merchandising and general retail standards fall short of what the brand should be aiming for. While we do not think it is necessary for Ralph Lauren to withdraw from a retailer like Macy’s, we do think that it should work more closely with the buying and store teams there to create an elevated in-store experience. Until it does, the inconsistency between what Ralph Lauren wants its brand to be and the reality on the ground will remain.”

    Ralph Lauren is now more operationally stable. The partnership between Ralph Lauren himself and Patrice Louvet appears to be working well, and there is a sense that the company is serious about resolving its various issues. We are also encouraged by the appointment of Angela Ahrendts (former CEO of Burberry and current head of Apple’s retail business) and Mike George to the board.

    George’s expertise in e-commerce will be valuable as this is an area where Ralph Lauren seriously underperforms. and Ahrendts’ experience in luxury and her ability to create coherent retail brands and propositions will be extremely beneficial to Ralph Lauren.

    Overall, while we believe Ralph Lauren is a long way from full health, it is most certainly recovering nicely.

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