IT products and services provider Challenger Technologies reports an 8 per cent rise in revenue for both the half-year and second quarter ended June 30.

It says this was driven by improved performance from corporate sales, tradeshow activities and growing sales from its Hachi.tech online marketplace, launched in April.

Net profit for the first half and second quarter increased marginally by 1 and 3 per cent respectively, mainly because of stronger gross profit, a rental rebate offered by Funan DigitaLife Mall and higher government grants. These were offset by higher staff costs and expenses involved in launching Hachi.tech.
“Hachi.tech presents a strong platform for us to reach a wider market and an evolving customer base that shops via multiple channels,” says CEO Loo Leong Thye. “Today we don’t have the physical constraints of a brick-and-mortar store because we can list an ever-growing range of products a customer can buy anytime, anywhere.”

He says Hachi.tech will be further improved in coming months.

With the closure of its flagship megastore in Funan DigitaLife Mall on June 30, the group now has 44 outlets comprising 23 Challenger superstores and 21 small-format stores in Singapore. “We had a successful closing sale after being in Funan for more than 20 years,” says Loo. “Despite Funan’s closure, we did not experience a significant revenue drop as our customers are already familiar with our large network.”

He says more retail stores will open as the company finds suitable locations and rentals. With the soft retail climate, stores that are not performing up to expectations will be resized or closed.

As the Funan flagship closed on the last day of the company’s reporting period, any impact from losing the store will not be evident until the next reporting cycle.