Hong Kong-based men’s wear group Trinity Ltd. said Thursday first-half net profit and sales grew at a double-digit pace on rising demand in China.
Trinity, part of the Li & Fung Group, said net profit for the six months ended June 30 rose 63.5 percent to 146.9 million Hong Kong dollars, or $18.84 million at average exchange rates. Sales advanced 30.4 percent to 924.7 million Hong Kong dollars, or $118.61 million.
“This is all driven by very significant same-store sales growth. At the same time, of course, we have more shops now than the same time last year,” Wong Yat Ming, Trinity’s group managing director, said at a press conference.
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The company said same-store sales growth for greater China was 19.7 percent in the first half of the year and the company expects to grow same-store sales in the “midteens” in the second half.
Growth in China is increasing faster than elsewhere, with 60 percent of sales now coming from Mainland China, up from 57 percent in 2010, the company reported. To capitalize on this growth, Trinity plans to open at least 50 stores in China in the second half of the year, with about 70 percent of them in second- and third-tier cities.
Separately, Wong said the company is “still looking for acquisition targets, all in high-end men’s wear” but declined to give further details.
Trinity completed its acquisition of Cerruti in March. The company also owns the Kent & Curwen brand and has long-term licensing agreements for D’Urban, Gieves & Hawkes plus a series of joint ventures to distribute Salvatore Ferragamo in South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Wong said the company expects Cerruti to break even this year but doesn’t see the brand posting strong profits in the near-term.
“We are very committed in spending money investing behind the brand in Paris. We do not see in the short term that it is a profit-making operation. It’s self-funding. So we will spend more on advertising and promotion,” he said.