Sa Sa pushes e-commerce strategy to shore up sales as mainland tourists dwindle and Sephora heats up rivalry

Sa Sa engages Boutir to chase online sales as foot traffic dwindles, rival Sephora re-enters local beauty retailing market

Sa Sa has lost 40 per cent of its market value in the past 12 months, versus a 4 per cent drop in the Hang Seng Index

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Staff wearing mask in a Sa Sa beauty retail shop in Causeway Bay at the onset of coronavirus pandemic in February 2020. Photo: May Tse

Published: 12:30pm, 5 Aug 2020Updated: 8:32pm, 5 Aug 2020

Sa Sa International Holdings is tapping the expertise of e-commerce solutions provider Boutir to shore up online sales as the coronavirus pandemic and new competitors threaten its position as Hong Kong’s biggest cosmetics retailer.

The firm is setting up “personal online stores” for its beauty consultants to engage customers and strengthen brand loyalty after a distressing 12 months, when unprecedented social unrest and the ensuing pandemic triggered a record slump earnings.

The partnership allows Sa Sa to merge physical and online stores and “use social media to engage and sell more with customers in Hong Kong,” chairman and chief executive officer Simon Kwok said. “This partnership is also generating additional commission income for the frontline staff amid the Covid-19 outbreak.”

The renewed push into e-commerce follows a prolonged slide in the local retail industry as mainland tourists stayed at home. Hong Kong’s economy contracted for a fourth straight quarter through June 30, the city’s worst recession on record, while retailers took a beating on the local stock exchange. The operators of Sogo department store has warned of no recovery in 2020.

Sa Sa chairman and CEO Simon Kwok. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Sa Sa incurred a net loss of HK$515.9 million (US$66.6 million) for the year ended March 31, versus a HK$470.8 million profit a year earlier. Its shares have declined 40 per cent over the past 12 months, 10 times deeper than the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

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