Chairman’s Message
In 2023, as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy significantly decreased, the Chinese consumer goods retail market showed signs of recovery, though it remained challenging. The Group’s revenue slightly increased by RMB1.2 million from RMB206.5 million in 2022 to RMB207.7 million in 2023, representing an increase of approximately 0.6%. The loss attributable to the owners of the parent decreased by RMB109.7 million from RMB252.2 million in 2022 to RMB142.5 million in 2023, representing a decrease of approximately 43.5%.
Facing the rapidly changing Chinese consumer goods retail market, the Group continued to increase its investment in brand development, digital transformation and business diversification in 2023, aiming to lay a foundation for future sales growth and profitability.
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
In 2023, the Group successfully became the master licensee for the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (“SBPRC”) brand in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, obtaining rights to manufacture, sell, distribute, market, and promote licensed products bearing the SBPRC trademarks, as well as to sublicense these rights to other third parties. This year, the Group successfully expanded its sublicensing business in categories such as bags, footwear and eyewear, and will continue to actively explore sublicensing opportunities in other product categories.
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
The Group launched a digital transformation strategy in 2022, aiming to achieve sales growth through initiatives such as “channel onlineization”, “marketing digitalization” and “process automation”. Due to increased investments in online sales and digital marketing, the Group’s sales on mainstream e-commerce platforms and VIP.com increased by RMB3.6 million from RMB10.7 million in 2022 to RMB14.3 million in 2023, representing an increase of approximately 33.6%. In addition, by transforming internal sales attendants into key opinion spreaders and collaborating with external key opinion leaders, the Group continued to increase its marketing efforts on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Douyin and WeChat Channels, enhancing our brands’ influence and driving customer traffic to both online and offline stores.
BUSINESS DIVERSIFICATION
On 27 December 2023, a subsidiary of the Company entered into a memorandum of understanding with Zhuhai Gree Financial Investment Management Co., Ltd. and Zhuhai Sinosure Joint Investment Co., Ltd. to form partnerships in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, with the aim of achieving favorable investment returns through direct equity investments and fund investments. Subsequently, the formal partnership agreements were signed on 24
January 2024. We firmly believe that the formation of the partnerships will provide the Group with opportunities to engage with industries and companies poised for future growth, thereby creating favorable conditions for the Group’s business transformation, development and diversification.
PROSPECT
Looking into 2024, we will continue to focus on achieving the Group’s main objectives for digital transformation. The Group will further increase its investment in digital marketing and VIP marketing, continuously enhancing the proportion of online sales and VIP sales in the Group’s total sales. In addition, the Group will actively explore the development of other business areas, including launching sales of our properties in Lin-Gang, expanding brand licensing business and seeking other potential investment opportunities.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all shareholders, board members, management team, staff, partners and customers for their support and contributions to the Group.
ZHANG Yongli
Chairman