Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd., the world’s largest jewellery retailer, has reported a 23 per cent drop in half-year sales as a result of low gold trading and Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests.
Chow Tai Fook, which competes with the likes of Cartier and Tiffany & Co., has been heavily impacted by Hong Kong’s public demonstrations that started back in September in response to China’s NPCSC announcing a decision on proposed electoral reform.
The revolution has halted progress at the Asian financial centre and lowered tourism numbers for the entire country.
Chow Tai Fook released the following statement: “While we believe that the negative impact brought forth by the recent demonstrations (that) happened in Hong Kong should be temporary, we strive to extend our customer reach and improve our customers’ shopping experience to cope with the challenges ahead.”
The company reported a net profit of HK$2.69 billion for the first half of the year ending September, compared to HK$3.51 billion for the same period in 2013. So far for this year, shares of Chow Tai Fook have fallen around 9 per cent. CJ
