China’s jewellery chain, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd’s (CTF) retail sales suffered double-digit losses in the first two months of the year.
The company’s unaudited key operational data ending February 29 showed that sales in China plunged 42 per cent while those in Hong Kong and Macau were down 60 per cent due to temporary shutdown of stores in China and Hong Kong due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Image credit: CTF
As of February 20, the majority of the retailer’s point of sales (POS) have resumed operations –- approximately 70 per cent in China and 64 per cent in Hong Kong and Macau. Online sales in China meanwhile dropped 24 per cent year-on-year while volume decreased by 36 per cent.
As of today, CTF’s manufacturing facility in Wuhan-China remains temporarily closed. The Wuhan factory produces mainly mass luxury products, contributing about 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the group’s jewellery output. Production of such products has been momentarily allocated to the group’s Shunde and Shenzhen facilities.
CTF also points out that inventories, which were replenished before Chinese New Year, are likely to remain high in the short term owing to dwindling demand.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished
