Hong Kong-based Tse Sui Luen Jewellery (International) Ltd will further strengthen its digital strategies to help mitigate the pandemic’s impact on its retail business.

Based on its interim results for the six months ending September 30, 2020, the group recorded a loss attributable to owners of the company of HK$41.6 million compared to a profit of HK$1.6 million during the same period in 2019. Turnover was down 28.7 per cent year on year.

The retail environment suffered from a significant drop in tourist arrivals to Hong Kong and Macau due to travel restrictions. Strict social distancing measures alongside soaring gold prices and the cancellation of weddings further dampened the demand for gold and jewellery. During the period, TSL’s turnover in Hong Kong and Macau shrank by 62 per cent. 

Despite initial signs of recovery in China’s retail industry, tensions between China and the US resulted in a weaker renminbi, which affected consumer sentiment. Amid a challenging scenario, TSL managed to record a decrease of 12.9 per cent in turnover in China. Its retail business in China through self-operated stores, which accounted for 48.3 per cent of overall revenues, will however continue to play an important role in the group's future development, TSL stated.

During the pandemic, online shopping became a viable alternative for consumers who couldn’t travel and shop in person, noted TSL. “To ride on the global online shopping trend, the group upped its sales and marketing efforts through online channels and platforms, with our frontline staff setting up live streams to interact with younger consumers so as to encourage purchases,” revealed the retailer. It also worked with Chinese KOLs to help build a solid online presence.

The group’s e-commerce platforms registered a 17 per cent growth in turnover during the period in review. Moving forward, TSL said it will keep on enhancing its online marketing strategies to capitalise on online-to-offline business opportunities.

TSL is allocating additional resources to its online strategies. In fact, it accelerated the launch of its official Hong Kong website, expanded its e-commerce footprint by opening a TSL flagship store on China Merchants Bank online mall and joined several other banks’ online mall platforms. The group will also continue to operate in e-commerce platforms JD.com, Tmall and Taobao to further grow its e-business.