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Hong Kong’s biggest cosmetics chain Sasa is planning to make a comeback in Singapore, Bloomberg reported.
During the 2019 to 2020 financial year, the chain closed all of its 22 outlets in the country after failing to make profits.
According to chief financial officer Danny Ho, the chain is expected to open one or two stores in Singapore in 2023.
Cautious recovery
Sa Sa International Holdings is planning to open just a few stores in light of the slow pace of Hong Kong’s post-pandemic economic recovery.
Ho noted that it could take till 2026 for the chain’s sales to return to pre-pandemic levels.
In an interview cited by Bloomberg, he said that they remain conservative in terms of how much they thought tourists would return.
“We don’t expect things to go back to previous highs,” he remarked.
In February 2023, Hong Kong received a reported number of around 1.5 million tourists.
However, this was still a decrease of 74 per cent from the levels in 2019, Bloomberg reported.
Hong Kong hopes to regain its reputation as a financial and shopping hub in view of its slow post-pandemic reopening.
Opening of stores
Besides opening in Singapore, Sasa intends to open more stores in Malaysia where it currently has 71 outlets.
The chain is also expected to open five to seven stores in Hong Kong and Macau, adding to the current number of around 80 stores.
Tourism levels to these cities have shrunk during the past three years as a result of mainland China’s stringent zero-Covid policy, which was reversed in December 2022.
Sasa also has 38 stores in China and will continue to focus on operations at the current level, according to Ho.
Cosmetics market
Sasa has been focusing on domestic consumers for the past years.
This included offering more personal care products in addition to cosmetics and skincare products, which were popular with tourists.
It has also ramped up its digital presence on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
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Top image via Wikimedia Commons/Ameiall Leissa