Harvey Nichols owner Dickson Concepts warns of long, gloomy days ahead for Hong Kong’s retail industry as sales are crushed by Covid-19
- Licensee of brands including Tod’s and Roger Vivier expects the retail industry’s recovery from Covid-19 to be long and painful
- The company said it is facing the most challenging consumer environment it’s ever seen in Hong Kong after the pandemic stopped mainland Chinese coming to the city
Dickson Concepts, a Hong Kong luxury goods retailer and owner of department store Harvey Nichols, warned of “the most challenging market conditions” it has ever faced.
The comments came on Monday as the company, which licenses upmarket fashion brands such as Tod’s and Roger Vivier as well as jewellery brand Chopard in Asia, reported a 57 per cent rise in net profit to HK$645.8 million (US$83 million) for the financial year ended March 31, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The positive result, an outlier in an industry weighed down by the Covid-19 pandemic, was driven by a successful investment portfolio of listed and private securities, which contributed HK$855.3 million of profit after the disposal of an unlisted investment, the company said.
Dickson Concept’s retail division, on the other hand, recorded a loss of HK$209.5 million, as the company “faced the worst local consumer sentiment in its history” in Hong Kong as a result of the virus outbreak, it said.
Despite achieving robust sales during the early months of the year, “the retail climate deteriorated significantly thereafter and mainland Chinese tourists all but disappeared,” the company said, referring to the devastating impact of seven months of unprecedented anti-government street protests on Hong Kong’s retail and tourism industries.
Sales turnover in Hong Kong plunged by a quarter from the previous financial year, Dickson Concepts said.