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Sa Sa’s cautious revival shows pessimism over Hong Kong recovery

  • Sales will take until after 2026 to return to pre-pandemic levels, says CFO Danny Ho
  • Sa Sa will open five to seven stores across Hong Kong and Macau this year, after its network in these cities shrank by a third in the past three years to about 80 stores

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Sa Sa, Hong Kong’s biggest cosmetics retailer, hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic is cautious about its prospects. Photo: May Tse
Bloomberg

Hong Kong’s biggest cosmetics chain plans to open just a handful of new stores this year after shutting dozens during the pandemic as doubts remain that the city will return to its pre-Covid heights as a shopping mecca.

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The cautious outlook from Sa Sa International Holdings reflects broader pessimism over the pace of the financial hub’s economic recovery after Covid curbs were eased, with chief financial officer Danny Ho expecting sales to take until 2026 to return to pre-pandemic levels, while tourists’ contribution to revenue may decline to 60 per cent from 70 per cent.

“We are quite conservative in terms of how much we think tourists will come back,” Ho said in an interview. “We don’t expect things to go back to previous highs.”

Sa Sa will open five to seven stores across Hong Kong and Macau this year, after its network in the cities shrank by a third in the past three years to about 80 stores as mainland China’s zero-Covid policy kept tourists away.

One of Hong Kong’s bellwether consumer stocks, Sa Sa’s cautious outlook will add to doubts that Hong Kong can quickly restore its pre-Covid status as a financial and shopping hub after a rocky pandemic path in which erratic rules and an excruciatingly slow reopening damaged its reputation.

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