Asian retail giant performing well in MSAR

Convenience stores operated by Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited in Macau and Hong Kong are said to be performing well, thanks to a modest increase in tourist numbers, according to the company.
The company noted that it recorded solid profit growth in the first half of 2017, in spite of lower sales in its supermarket and hypermarket segments.
Sales for the period by the group’s subsidiaries totalled some US$5.50 billion (MOP44.31 billion), slightly lower than the same period last year, when they amounted to US$5.56 billion.
Total sales of the group, including associates and joint-ventures, were up 3 per cent to US$10.45 billion, from US$10.11 billion a year earlier.
Underlying net profit was up 6 per cent to US$211.4 million, from US$199.3 million in the first half of 2016.
The profit increase has been attributed to strong results from Maxim’s, the company’s restaurant division, and Yonghui, a supermarket in mainland China, as well as good performance from the health-and-beauty (Mannings) and home-furnishing divisions (IKEA) of the company.
Dairy Farm operates mainly in the food and restaurant segments, as well as in the health and beauty and home furnishing businesses.
In Macau, the group operates 7-Eleven convenience stores, Maxim’s restaurants and bakeries, Mannings health and beauty shop, as well as Starbucks outlets.
The Asian retail giant acquired Macau-based supermarket chain San Miu in March 2015, as part of a strategy to expand its businesses in the Chinese market, according to previous reports.
Maxim’s is Dairy Farm’s restaurant branch, which introduced the Starbucks chain to Hong Kong in 2000, according to the company.
In June 2011, the Hong Kong Maxim’s group acquired the entire equity stake of Starbucks in the Hong Kong and Macau markets, assuming 100 percent equity of these markets.
Maxim’s announced in July that the franchise will be operating Shake Shack, a fast-food American burger restaurant chain, in Macau and Hong Kong.
Shake Shack and Maxim’s plan to open the first Hong Kong outlet in 2018 and a total of 14 restaurants in Hong Kong and Macau through 2027.