Dear Shareholders,
As mentioned in our 2023 Annual Results, the current external and global economic and political environment remains complicated. Hong Kong’s economy and society are undergoing a period of transformation, while the demographic composition and consumer consumption patterns in Hong Kong keep changing. At the same time, the new trend of cross-border consumption brings significant competition pressure to the Hong Kong retail industry. Therefore, we have become more determined to seek changes actively since 2022 not only to reinforce HKTVmall’s leading position in the Hong Kong Ecommerce industry, but more importantly, to explore different business models and even eye on international markets, to invest in New Ventures and Technology business. We believe that instead of just focusing on the existing achievements and being a stick-in-the-mud, the Group can only keep its unique advantages by maintaining our innovative spirit and trying different new things.
In the first half of 2024, the Hong Kong retail industry was still facing certain challenges, particularly from the extensive outbound travel and competition from physical stores and online platforms from the Mainland. According to the latest figures from the Census and Statistics Department, the estimated total retail sales and value of online sales in the first half of 2024 dropped 6.5% and 0.3%* respectively, compared to the same period last year. The Group managed to record steady growth, with total GMV on order intake (including Hong Kong Ecommerce business and New Ventures and Technology businesses) reached about HK$4,235.5 million, representing a 4.9% growth compared to the same period last year, outperforming the overall performance of Hong Kong’s retail industry. Nevertheless, we will not be complacent and lax. Instead, we have to seize our current advantages and seek opportunities for innovative transformation.
Stepping into the tenth year of running its Ecommerce business, the Group has been adhering to the core values of “Continuously Striving for the Best in Life, Always Something New, and Make Everything Possible”, tackling challenges that were believed to be “impossible to be solved” and putting things that were believed to be “impossible to be done” into reality. We firmly believe that HKTVmall and the Group can only go further when we dare to adventure and always choose to take challenges.
The Group is actively promoting two innovative business models – Wet Market Express, the express delivery service of fresh food, and Everuts, a global personal shopping platform. Although these new venture projects are facing significant difficulties and challenges, our team is working hard to overcome these issues one by one. Both Wet Market Express and Everuts carry an important mission of expanding the online shopping scope for the Group, enabling customers to enjoy our services from buying fresh food in wet markets, various supermarket groceries, skincare and cosmetics, to luxury branded handbags. Fresh food from the wet markets and luxury branded products possess a uniqueness that makes them the only services hard to be replaced by the large online shopping platform from the Mainland. If our services are limited to HKTVmall like currently, perhaps in five years’ time, like many companies founded in Hong Kong, we will be acquired by large corporations and Mainland enterprises, or even forced to withdraw from the market.
Due to the relatively high operational costs for Wet Market Express, it is challenging for general operators to enter the market, and even large operators may not be willing to invest substantial resources to develop the service. However, for HKTVmall, the above factor creates much space for development and more possibilities. Therefore, in the first half of 2024, we have been actively putting in advertising and marketing resources, launching several large-scale marketing activities, putting our effort into promoting the service to HKTVmall’s user base of over 1.6 million while actively acquiring new customers to extend our business scale to reduce the operational cost per order.
Everuts has commenced its operation for one and a half years since its launch in January 2023. Our personal shopper network has grown over thousand, covering more than 25 countries and regions globally, providing global purchasing services for consumers in Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand, and we will also promote Everuts’ services to other Asian countries. Some may question if customers need this kind of shopping model provided by Everuts, given that various foreign purchasing services exist in Hong Kong and the convenience of outbound travel.
Everuts aims to provide a reliable and credible platform for global consumers and personal shoppers, ensuring that both parties receive corresponding services and returns for their efforts. Everuts allows us to offer customers infinite online shopping options that extend far beyond the one to two million products available on HKTVmall. Everuts refines online shopping in the way that as long as our customers want to buy the products, the personal shoppers will strive to purchase them. Our team has revamped Everuts’ user interface to make it simpler and more user-friendly while providing more shopping information. Everuts also joined hands with HKTVmall to launch mega promotional activities, aiming to attract more consumers to try this new service.
As the leader in the industry, we must engage in diversified development and persist in trying new approaches when encountering the complex and dynamic business environment in the future; when facing difficulties we will only keep thinking to sort things out, and refuse to give up. In the coming years, with the support from the solid performance of HKTVmall, the Group will keep strengthening investments and explore new businesses to bring long-term returns to our shareholders.
Cheung Chi Kin, Paul
Chairman
Wong Wai Kay, Ricky
Vice Chairman
Hong Kong, 23 August 2024