Emperor Watch & Jewellery sales rose strongly in Hong Kong and Macau last year, due to a rebound in tourism in the first half and the opening of new stores.
Hong Kong remained the group’s core market, with sales there up 19.6 per cent. In Macau, sales rose 224 per cent, according to the company’s latest results.
Adjusted net profit of $269 million represented a 68.1 per cent improvement over the preceding year.
Emperor Watch & Jewellery sales in Singapore and Mainland China were broadly stable year on year.
The company ended the year with 95 stores, a net gain of 15. Six of the new stores were jewellery shops opened in Hong Kong, all in shopping malls with heavy foot traffic, such as Telford Plaza I in Kowloon Bay, APM in Kwun Tong and Mostown in Ma On Shan.
In Malaysia, the company opened its first store, a 2000sqft site in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.
Sales of watches grew 13.1 per cent to HK$3.664 billion, accounting for 77.6 per cent of group sales. Jewellery sales rose by 25.5 per cent to $1.058 billion, thanks to an expanded store network and greater marketing activity.
In its results, Emperor Watch & Jewellery described last year as one “of contrasts”.
“The first half of the year was marked by encouraging growth for the luxury consumption market in general. However, this growth was not sustained and the second half was punctuated by a fall-off in market sentiment in the shadow of a prolonged Sino-US trade dispute.”
It said the macro-economic headwinds such as the trade dispute, a cooling Chinese economy and swings in currencies present “formidable business challenges in the near term”.
“Over the past decades, the group has witnessed many ups and downs, and has emerged stronger after each cycle. As such, the group will continue to execute responsive and flexible strategies while fine-tuning its priorities to stay competitive. The group will also strive to optimise its cost structures across each level of business and remain vigilant regarding uncertainties on the horizon.”
