Bucking the downtrend of its previous three financial years, fashion retailer Moiselle International Holdings has had slight first-half revenue gains in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Macau.
It derived about 54 per cent of its revenue from Hong Kong, where profitability was hit by “exorbitant” shop rents and high labour costs. It was the same story in China, which contributed 17 per cent to sales. The remaining 29 per cent of the group’s revenue was contributed by sales in Macau, Singapore and Taiwan.
First-half revenue for the group rose 3 per cent to about HK$136 million (US$17.4 million). The loss attributable to the equity shareholders of the company narrowed to about $15 million from $35 million 12 months ago. Gross profit margin was 75 per cent, compared with 79 per cent.
To mark its 20th anniversary this year, the group reinforced its house brands Germain, MDMS and Moiselle. It organised a large-scale fashion show in Central in Hong Kong in September featuring celebrities and famous models. It also consolidated its business presence in China by participating in Shanghai Fashion Week, where Moiselle featured in the opening show.
The group stepped up its efforts to market accessories and leather goods under the Lancaster brand and opened a shop in Festival Walk in Kowloon and a pop-up counter in Sogo.
To cope with the difficult market environment, the group closed or relocated underperforming stores. It also launched a VIP club membership service in Hong Kong and adopted an O2O business model through an alliance with a Chinese shopping website. The group also managed to negotiate lower rents for some shops in Hong Kong.
At the end of September, the group had 63 stores and counters in Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, Singapore and Taiwan, down from 75 at the end of March.
Hong Kong: Sales revenue was contributed by nine Moiselle, six MDMS and five Lancaster stores and one outlet. At the end of March there had been the same number of Moiselle and MDMS stores, but also three Coccinelle and two Germain stores, and one Lancaster store and two outlets.
China: Sales eased up 1 per cent to about $23.6 million, accounting for 17 per cent of the group’s turnover. At the end of September the group had 14 Moiselle stores and one Germain. This was a drop from 22 Moiselle stores at the end of March.
Macau: The Group ended the period with five shops at Venetian Macao Resort Hotel and one at the Parisian Macao Hotel, including two M Concept stores. In the city it had two Moiselle stores, one MDMS and one Lancaster. This was similar to the end of March, when however there was one Coccinelle store. The combined revenue of the stores increased by 18 per cent year on year
to about $21.1 million, or about 16 per cent of the Group’s revenue.
Taiwan: The group had 10 Moiselle and two MDMS stores and one Lancaster as well as three outlets, one fewer than at the start of the half-year. Revenues were down 10 per cent to about $12.3 million, accounting for about 9 per cent of the group’s total revenue.
Singapore: Group performance improved with a 25 per cent boost to revenue, which reached about $5.1 million. The group had two Moiselle stores and one each for MDMS and Germain, as well as an M Concept outlet. It closed one outlet during the period.
