Chow Tai Fook (CTF) says sales across its 6,000 outlets rebounded in the three months to 30 September as gold price surged, following on from five consecutive quarters of decline.
China’s biggest jewelry retailer (by store count) said the Q2 2026 results “marked a significant turning point of our business”.
Growth in retail sales value (RSV) for the quarter was 4.1 per cent, after five quarters with an average decline of over 18 per cent.
The recovery was driven by CTF’s 151 non-Mainland stores, most of them in Hong Kong and Macau, which reported an RSV growth of 11.4 per cent.
Sales at its 5,663 stores in Mainland China rose by a more modest 3.0 per cent.
Overall CTF benefited from soaring gold prices, which saw a significant increase in the average selling price of gold jewlery and gold products sold by weight and at fixed prices.
In its Unaudited Key Operational Data, the Hong Kong-based company said its signature collections had sustained strong sales momentum, and it had continued to make steady progress in its brand transformation.
During the quarter, CTF closed 300 under-performing stores.
“Our current priorities on retail network management remain unchanged, which are to sustain market leadership and enhance the overall financial health of our retail network by maximising store productivity,” the company said.
De Beers, the world’s top diamond producer by value, saw sales jump by 18% in the second cycle of 2022 compared to the same period last year, attesting to the industry’s consolidated recovery from the first pandemic-induced shutdowns.
The Anglo American unit sold $650 million of diamonds between February 21 to February 25, down $10 million from the first cycle of the year, but higher than the $550 million it sold in the second cycle of 2021.
De Beers sells its gems through 10 sales each year in Botswana’s capital, Gaborone, and the handpicked buyers known as sightholders generally must accept the price and the quantities offered.
Customers are given a black and yellow box containing plastic bags filled with stones, with the number of boxes and quality of diamonds depending on what the buyer and De Beers agreed to in an annual allocation.
The company said that owing to the restrictions on the movement of people and products in various jurisdictions around the globe, it has continued to implement a “more flexible approach” to selling roughs, which included extending the latest sight event beyond its normal week-long duration.
The miner, which has benefitted from a steady recovery in the diamond market, is said to have hiked prices by about 8% in January. It had already increased the price of its rough diamonds throughout much of 2021 as it sought to recover from the first year of the pandemic when the industry came to a near halt. Most of these hikes, however, were applied to stones bigger than 1 carat.
The strategy granted De Beers a steady recovery during 2021. Its diamond prices rose by 23% in “just over a year,” said Mark Cutifani, CEO of Anglo American in a December presentation.
Russia-Ukraine effect De Beers may benefit from the sanctions imposed to Russian companies as Moscow-based Alrosa (MCX: ALRS), the world’s top diamond miner by output, is its main competitor.
Alrosa and its chief executive Sergei S. Ivanov were included in the first wave of restrictions announced by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which targeted mainly banks and energy firms.
Data from the US Treasury shows Alrosa is responsible for 90% of Russia’s diamond production and 28% of global supply.
De Beers chief executive Bruce Cleaver said the company has been “shocked” and “saddened” by the war in Ukraine, so it will donate $1 million to aid organizations operating in the region and providing support to those affected by the ongoing conflict.
Experts believe that The Kremlin will soon be unable to pay its debts amid increasing international sanctions against Russia.
Credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has downgraded its view of the country’s government debt, warning a default is “imminent” for the second time this month.
“The further ratcheting up of sanctions, and proposals that could limit trade in energy, increase the probability of a policy response by Russia that includes at least selective non-payment of its sovereign debt obligations,” the agency said.
Moscow has told investors that it will continue to service its sovereign debt but warned that international sanctions imposed on its energy industry could limit its ability and willingness to meet its obligations.
Forevermark has launched a concept store in Shanghai tailored to millennial shopping habits, marking its 1,000th branch in China.
The opening of the store, named Libert’aime, also celebrates the brand’s 10th anniversary of entering the country. The De Beers-owned brand designed the branch’s diamond-jewelry line with a young, self-purchasing consumer in mind, it said Tuesday.
The store combines online and offline platforms, including a WeChat store. It also features digital experiences such as a 3D diamond wall, and a “magic mirror” that allows customers to share pieces with friends and family.
The store includes sections dedicated to different product types. The “diamond bar” will feature daily-wear diamond jewelry, while fancy-cut and multi-diamond pieces will be located in the “spectacular diamond” area.
“[Libert’aime] brings together an innovative in-store offering with online and social channels to provide customers with a highly engaging and personalized buying experience,” Forevermark CEO Stephen Lussier said. “We recognize that our consumer continues to evolve and, with Libert’aime by Forevermark, we are thrilled to be offering a diamond-jewelry range that has been designed with a younger, more fashion-forward consumer in mind, who might just be starting their diamond journey.”
The Shanghai store will also feature a new collection, LE LIGHT, designed by popular Chinese actor and musician Timmy Xu Weizhou.
In addition, De Beers Diamond Jewellers has opened a new store in the luxury SKP shopping mall in Xi’an, its sixth in mainland China. The new branch will feature three separate divisions: one for bridal jewelry, a second with collections such as the Talisman, Enchanted Lotus and Dewdrop lines, and a third showcasing high-jewelry pieces.
