Chow Tai Fook Jewellery worst affected by uproar in Hong Kong

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd is bearing the brunt of the pro-democracy protests that have been going on in Hong Kong for nearly two months, reports say.

Due to the height of the protests, the jeweller has shut as many as one-third of its stores. In October, same-store sales in Hong Kong dropped to 24 per cent as compared to a year ago. When the company reports half-year earnings, investors will be looking for more detail about how the political turmoil has affected its sales—and signs of whether the situation could get worse, adds a report.

Further, the report adds that roads in three of Hong Kong’s key districts remain blocked, crimping sales for a broad spectrum of retailers due to the protests. It has been eight weeks now, since the protests have begun. Luxury-goods companies have been particularly hard hit: During the Golden Week shopping period in early October, one of the busiest retail weeks of the year in Hong Kong, sales fell as much as 40 per cent or luxury-goods companies, estimates Luca Solca, head of luxury goods at Exane BNP Paribas.

Apart from the protests, Chow Tai Fook is exposed to the Chinese government’s anticorruption campaign, which has slowed industry sales of jewellery, watches and other high-end goods. China’s slowing growth has also led to cautious spending by Chinese consumers.