Sa Sa International has released sales figures combining January and February – the first true indicator of how the Hong Kong retail market is performing so far this year.

Sa Sa sales in Hong Kong and Macau surged 14.6 per cent during the period, and same-store sales rose 11.1 per cent.

Official government figures show Hong Kong retail sales rose 4.1 per cent in January, compared to last year, but that figure was relatively meaningless given the timing of Lunar New Year, which fell in February this year and in January last year, preventing a true comparison. A government spokesman said at the time of the data’s release that, after taking the Lunar New Year factor into account, the figures suggested consumer sentiment was “rather robust” entering 2018. And Inside Retail Hong Kong has heard positive sentiment from a number of retail sources about trading over the holiday period.

These Sa Sa sales figures suggest a positive rebound from January 1 to February 28.

Chairman and CEO Simon Kwok said the number of transactions through Sa Sa stores rose 9 per cent and the average sale per transaction by 5.2 per cent.

“The overall performance was in line with our expectations. Sales growth was mainly driven by the increase in store traffic and consumer consumption. The number of transactions with locals and mainland tourists increased by 6.3 per cent and 12.5 per cent respectively, while

their average sale per transaction also increased by 4.6 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively.”

Kwok says Sa Sa is benefitting from Hong Kong’s retail market recovery, and  is “cautiously optimistic” about the outlook of Hong Kong and Macau markets.

“We will continue to optimise product offerings and enhance customers’ shopping experience to cater for consumer demand in the fast changing markets,” he said in a stock exchange filing.