Sogo operator worried over outlook as extradition bill protests, trade war weigh on first-half sales
- The company’s Causeway Bay store saw a 3.7 per cent drop in footfall to 78,600 people per day as protesters targeted the popular shopping district during the protests
- Net profit attributable to Lifestyle International Holdings’ core operations fell 2.7 per cent to HK$981.3 million
Lifestyle International Holdings, which operates Sogo department store, said the outlook for the rest of the year looks bleak after the Causeway Bay branch recorded a 4.8 per cent decline in sales in the first half, as protests reduced footfall by 3.7 per cent and mainland tourists spent less amid a slowing Chinese economy.
“In June, the large scale protests and marches had a huge impact on consumer sentiment and the retail sector,” said Thomas Lau Luen-Hung, chairman of the group, said at a press conference on Monday to announce the first-half results. “[The economy] started deteriorating in June, worsened in July, and I think it will further go downhill in August. This is the actual situation we’re in right now.”
Lau said that the ongoing US-China trade tensions and heightened economic uncertainties, combined with the city’s ongoing political and social unrest, would continue to weigh on the city’s economy and the retail sector in the second half of the year.
He hoped that the protests sparked by the now-abandoned extradition bill, which are entering their 10th week, could be resolved quickly so that the city returns to normalcy once again.
Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui, where the Sogo stores are located, were among the districts targeted by protesters.