Luxury goods sales drop 30 pct during CNY

By
Joanne Kuai

The latest data from the Statistics and Census Service issued yesterday shows that in January this year gold jewellery merchandise imports dropped 56.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The value of gold jewellery imports in the first month of this year was MOP641.3 million, while it stood at MOP1.47 billion in January 2014.
Handbags and wallets dropped 35.3 per cent to MOP265 million in January 2015 from MOP410 million the same month last year.
According to TDM Chinese Radio’s report, local industrial representatives say that during this year’s Chinese New Year, high-end goods and luxury goods continued dropping by 20 to 30 per cent compared to the same period last year.
“This year (during Chinese New Year), we can see that high-end consumption has shrunk slightly,” said Lei Chi Fong, President of the Macau Goldsmith’s Guild. “Domestic consumption and rational consumption didn’t see a big change.”
Lei Chi Fong added that the anti-corruption campaign in Mainland China may continue to exercise its impact on the Macau market. Foreign investors in the short term may change their marketing strategy due to high rent and restructure their business. But he said he believes that the industry will develop healthily in the long tern.
HK, Macau sales plunge Chow Tai Fook’s gold sales during the Chinese New Year holidays also support this story. The group’s gold products’ same-store sales growth decreased by 14 per cent compared to a year ago.
In Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Limited’s unaudited key operation data for the Chinese New Year (CNY) period from 5 to 22 February 2015 released at the end of last month to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE) shows that Hong Kong and Macau and other markets suffered a 24 per cent drop in retail sales value growth compared to the corresponding CNY period last year from 17 January to 3 February 2014.
However, the whole group has seen a nine per cent increase in retail sales value mainly attributable to the 22 per cent increase in the Mainland China market. Same-store sales growth in the Mainland market saw 11 per cent increase but the Hong Kong, Macau and other markets saw a 39 per cent plunge.
In terms of same-store sales growth by product, gold products dropped 14 per cent in general, and 38 per cent in Hong Kong, Macau and other markets. Gem-set jewellery, on the contrary, saw a tremendous increase in the Mainland market, which grew by 62 per cent, although still dropping 17 per cent in Hong Kong and Macau and other markets.
The filing with the HKSE also noted that ‘same-store sales’ for the CNY period is the revenue from self-operator POS existing as at 22 February 2014 and which had been opened prior to 1 April 2014. Revenue from wholesale and other channels are excluded.