Hong Kong beauty products retailer Bonjour Holdings has reported a 288 per cent increase in half year profit, largely on gains from the sale of its salon business.
It reported a six month profit of HK$424 million (US$54.7 million) with the salon business disposal last January returning a profit of about $399 million. Its profit on continuing operations fell 75 per cent to just $25 million.
Overall sales slid 14.4 per cent to about $1.15 billion, with Hong Kong the primary problem; sales in Macau rose 1.2 per cent to $109 million.
Bonjour has 46 stores in Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou.
In its report to the stock exchange, Bonjour said it expected the challenging retail environment to continue in the second half of this year as Mainland Chinese tourists chose to visit Japan, South Korea or Europe instead of Hong Kong.
Bonjour said the average spend per customer would fall with most Mainland Chinese shoppers visiting Hong Kong coming from second and third tiers, with less spending power than those previously underpinning the two territories’ retail sector.
* Photo: George Jefferies