While it had a slight dip in revenue for the six months ended December 31, Time Watch Investments took over the design and distribution of a range of international designer label watches.
It also had growth in watch sales through its eCommerce platforms, the company notes in its interim results.
In November, the group completed its acquisition of a portfolio of 10 licensed brands, including Kenneth Cole, Sean John, Sperry, Ted Baker and Tommy Bahama, plus two owned brands, Freestyle and Game Time. The Game Time brand includes licenses with five professional sports leagues and collegiate sports teams in the US.
Following the establishment of the company’s 70 per cent-owned subsidiary Shenzhen Time Watch Trading Company in 2013, Time Watch Investments signed agreements with several online sales platforms including, but not limited to, Jingdong Mall, Paipai (Tencent QQ) and Tmall. These offer sales of lower-priced watches and series aimed at younger people.
For the period under review, watch sales via eCommerce channels rose by about 19.6 per cent over the same quarter for 2015 from about HK$120.3 million to about to about HK$143.9 million.
Overall revenue for the group eased about 1.2 per cent to about HK$1291.1 million.
The group’s main business was the manufacture and retail sales of its two proprietary brands, Tian Wang and Balco, as well as selling other brands in mainland China, and the global distribution of other watch brands and watch movements.
Tian Wang watches continued to be the core business, contributing about 72.1 per cent of total revenue.
The group’s retail network mainly comprises sales counters in department stores.