The Census and Statistics Department announced earlier that Hong Kong retail sales fell 3.1 percent to HK$38.7 billion in July 2014 over last year. It was the smallest drop over the last four months. The volume of total retail sales in July 2014 decreased by 4.5 percent year-on-year. In terms of jewellery, watches and clocks, the sales and volume were down 22.2 percent and 23.9 percent respectively when comparing with a year earlier. For the first seven months of 2014, sales and volume decreased by 17.5 percent and 15.1 percent.
According to The Sun, chairman & chief executive of Lukfook Jewellery, Wong Wai Sheung noted that affected by the unprecedented huge demand for gold last year, the sales in the first half of this year was within expectations. He foresees a better business performance in the second half. He said: “More tourists from the third-and-fourth tier cities tend to purchase mid-priced products. The company will adjust the products portfolio based on consumers’ demand.” Chairperson of Emperor Jewellery, Cindy Yeung anticipated that the retail market in the second half of 2014 will be more optimistic comparing H1. She also noted that in some tourist areas, the company has extended the business hours of its chain stores since the beginning of this year, and the strategy works well.
Chow Sang Sang stated that jewellery retail comparable-store sales fell 32 percent in Hong Kong and Macau, primarily due to a dramatic drop in gold sales. The company said that the number of tourists coming to Hong Kong in the first half of 2014 increased compared with 2013. However, the trend did not bring more retail sales for jewellery and watches in the region where political disputes in Hong Kong and the anti-corruption policies in Mainland China contributed to sales drop especially the great reduction of gold products in the first six months of 2014.
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