Chow Tai Fook Q4 2016 Retail Sales -26%

(IDEX Online News) – Chinese diamond jewelry company Chow Tai Fook has reported a 26-percent decline in retail sales for the three-month period ended March 31, according to its unaudited operational data.

With regard to its results on Mainland China, the company said that declining demand was due to a weakening demand for luxury items amid the slowdown of economic growth. A decline in tourist traffic and weaker local consumer sentiment in Hong Kong and Macau also negatively affected the Chow Tai Fook’s performance.

On Mainland China, retail sales value growth, same store sales growth and same store sales volume growth all declined by 25 percent. In Hong Kong and Macau, the same performance indicators saw a 26-, 27-, and 29-percent decrease.

In terms of same store sales growth by product, gem-set jewelry and gold products declined on Mainland China by 24 percent and 29 percent respectively. In Hong Kong and Macau the same products saw a 22-percent and 25-percent decline respectively. The company said that the declines would have been slightly less severe if factoring in currency fluctuations.

The company opened a net of 62 point-of-sale (POS) stores during the 2016 fiscal year, bringing the total number of those stores to 2,319 as of March 31.