Image credit: PhotoMIX-Company
As COVID-19 cases continued to increase in Hong Kong, sales of jewellery and other luxury items dipped in August. Revenue from jewellery, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts plunged 38% y-o-y to $317.5 mn for the month, according to Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department.Sales in all retail categories slipped 13% to $3.3 bn during August.
Retail sales remained weak in August amid the third wave of the epidemic. Revenue from jewellery, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts slumped 62% to $2.45 bn for the January to August period of the year.
Sales in all retail categories declined 30% to $27.47 bn for the January to August period 2020.
According to analysts, this situation is expected to persist shortly as economic conditions remain under pressure. Also, as inbound tourism is unlikely to show any swift recovery in the near term, the retail trade will remain to be difficult.
The two-week quarantine imposed by the Hong Kong government on tourists arriving from mainland China also hindered retail sales as arrivals from China fell 99.9% in August.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
