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International Housewares Retail, which runs the store chain Japan Home Centre, plans to open its first store in an MTR station, in Siu Hong, in September, with two more MTR station outlets to follow by the end of the year.
The company, which sells affordable housewares, announced strong full-year results last week with profit increasing 42.2 per cent to HK$144.4 million, despite a gloomy backdrop of weakened retail industry sales, thanks to its core customer segment of middle-class shoppers.
Revenue rose 16.6 per cent to HK$1.75 billion.
The company opened 44 stores over the past financial year to April.
In addition to exploring the MTR station format, it plans to launch an e-commerce platform and enter the US east coast market, focusing on overseas Chinese enclaves through a franchisee by the end of the year.
While luxury and tourist-oriented retailers, especially jewellery and watches, have experienced significant drops in growth, chief executive Peter Lau Pak-fai said the company's business would be largely immune to potential changes to the individual travellers scheme.
The company said business would remain stable. It would open 15 stores a year locally up to 300 stores, Lau said.
The firm would also be aggressively expanding in Singapore, which enjoyed a higher GDP per capita than Hong Kong, strong government-backed population growth plan and similar consumption habits to its home market.
Business in mainland China, Malaysia and Macau were not as strong. The company attributed the former two's performance to its recent entry, saying it still had yet to properly adapt the product selection to local tastes. In Macau, business was bogged down by high rents.
Meanwhile, the Nielsen Hong Kong consumer confidence index reported a sharp eight-point fall over the previous quarter to 103, according to a survey conducted in May.
Index levels above 100 indicate optimism while those below point to pessimism.
Entertainment and holiday spending led the decline, dropping 6 percentage points to 36 per cent and 23 per cent of survey respondents, respectively. Seventeen per cent said they had spent on home improvements and decorating, down four points.


Houseware retailer takes MTR route to expansion

Peter Lau said the company would open 15 stores a year locally up to 300 stores.

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Company plans to open stores in train stations after posting 42.2 per cent increase in profit


International Housewares Retail, which runs the store chain Japan Home Centre, plans to open its first store in an MTR station, in Siu Hong, in September, with two more MTR station outlets to follow by the end of the year.


Houseware retailer takes MTR route to expansion

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Company plans to open stores in train stations after posting 42.2 per cent increase in profit

Company plans to open stores in train stations after posting 42.2 per cent increase in profit