Hong Kong Jewelry Sales Recover in March
May 05, 21
(IDEX Online) - Sales of jewelry soared in Hong Kong during March compared with the same month last year, when China's special administrative region was in the depths of the Covid crisis.
Revenue from jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts increased by 81 per cent year-on-year, the best performance in any retail sector, according to provisional figures released by the government yesterday. They totaled $385m in a month when Covid infections neared an all time low.
By comparison, total retail sales of all types were up by just over 20 per cent, year-on-year, to a total of $3.55bn.
Retail sales registered a notable year-on-year increase in March, "mainly due to an exceptionally low base of comparison last year", said a government spokesman.
"To attain a stronger revival of the retail trade and a broader-based economic recovery, it is essential for the community to work together to keep the epidemic under control and to actively participate in the COVID-19 vaccination programme," he said.
The figures given for jewelry, watches, clocks and other valuable gifts are not broken down into narrower categories.
Sales for January and February 2020, combined to smooth out volatility around the lunar new year, were up by just three per cent year-on-year.