Chinese department store retailer Wangfujing has reported a difficult first quarter.
Its revenue of CNY4.733 billion (US$722.2 million) was a year-on-year decrease of 5.2 per cent, while its net profit slid 17.02 per cent to CNY187.254 million.
Wangfujing’s total product retail value for the quarter was CNY4.52 billion, down 6.1 per cent, while its gross margin of 18.11 per cent was 0.43 per cent lower.
There was “certain revenue growth” in central China and the northwestern region, while performance declined in north, south, southwest and east China, which performed the worst with an 18.3 per cent drop.
Wangfujing says the group invested CNY220 million to acquire a 51 per cent stake in Haerbin Xidingtai Commercial Investment, and launched a cross-border eCommerce business via its WeChat store.
Taking cosmetics products as its entry point, the store provides directly mailed cosmetics from Australia, France, Japan and Korea, including such brands as Armani, Estee Lauder and Fular.