Hong Kong Retail Worsens Amid Covid-19 Wave

RAPAPORT... Hong Kong's hard-luxury sales plunged further in March as the government tightened its restrictions in response to a Covid-19 resurgence.Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts fell 37% year on year to HKD 1.89 billion ($240.3 million) for the month, the municipality's Census and Statistics Department reported last week. The decline is sharper than February's 34% decrease, which came after more than a year of growth.Sales in all retail categories dropped 14% to HKD 23.81 billion ($3.03 billion)."The value of retail sales fell [even more] sharply in March from a year earlier, as the fifth wave of the local epidemic and the resultant social-distancing measures continued to constrain people flow and dampen consumption sentiment," a government spokesperson said.In the first three months of the year, sales of jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts fell 21% to HKD 7.69 billion ($979.9 million). Proceeds from all retail segments slipped 8% to HKD 82.86 billion ($10.56 billion).However, the government expects sales to begin recovering in April as the virus starts to wane, it noted."Looking ahead, the improved local epidemic situation of late, and thus the progressive relaxation of social-distancing measures, along with the disbursement of the first batch of electronic consumption vouchers in early April, will render support to the sector," the spokesperson added.Image: Hong Kong. (Pikrepo)