Hong Kong Tourism Fuels Luk Fook Growth

RAPAPORT... Luk Fook saw a strong increase in its performance in thefourth fiscal quarter amid improved sentiment and a higher rate of tourism to Hong Kong.  Same-store sales for all categories rose 16% year on year for the three months ending March 31, the Hong Kong-based jewelry retailer said last week.  Sales in Hong Kong and Macau were up 18% on a same-store basis, outweighing mainland China, which saw a 2% decrease. The retailer also benefited from higher gold prices, it said.Same-store revenue growth "was better than expected and represented asubstantial improvement when compared to the 1% growth of the last quarter," the company said. Gold sales increased 16%, while gem-set jewelry sales climbed 18% for the three months ending March 31. At the end of the period, the jeweler had 225 self-operatedstores, of which 157 were in mainland China, 48 in Hong Kong, 10 in Macau and10 in other locations. The jeweler has a total of 1,404 licensed shops.Image: Hpalsgm