Chairman Statement

During the first half of 2022, albeit the sophisticated and ever-changing business environment caused by the fluctuating geopolitical situation and the pandemic control measures implemented by the mainland China, the Group actively boosted business transformation with a pragmatic and aggressive approach.

In the first half of the year, the Group had sold the trademarks under the international footwear brand “PONY” in countries outside of APAC to an US-leading brand operator Iconix International Inc. (“Iconix”), and had established a joint venture with Iconix for the operation of “PONY” business in APAC (excluding the mainland China and Taiwan region). The Group has been committed to enhancing brand value, and this transaction will be beneficial to the ongoing development of“PONY”. With the joint venture, and leveraging on the global advantages of Iconix and the expertise of the Group in APAC, the influence of “PONY” will be further extended. Meanwhile, the new plans for “PONY” will pave a solid foundation for the long-term development of the Group’s brand business as a whole and facilitate the continuous improvement of our own operation.

Previously, the Group formed a joint venture with ITOCHU Corporation (“ITOCHU”) of Japan to jointly operate the global business of “SKINS”, a compression sportswear brand. Thanks to the efforts of both parties, the “SKINS” sales network had been expanded globally, and it had secured a position in the professional athletic market through close cooperations with numerous international sports events and athletes. Focusing on product research and development and innovation, the brand had been dedicated to promoting product diversification and had continued to launched various fashionable and functional sports compression garments. To further increase market penetration, the brand had also launched product series for cycling and triathlon to satisfy different athletic needs. In terms of promotion, “SKINS” had been showcased in various exhibitions to re-introduce our brand story to the market. In June, “SKINS” participated in “Outdoor Retailer”, the North America’s largest tradeshow in the outdoor industry, in Denver, State of Colorado, the United States of America (the“US”). As an annual grand occasion of the industry, hundreds of renowned international outdoor brands around the world had been gathered at the exhibition, and the success of which had increased the awareness of the innovative products of“SKINS”, which helped accelerate our development pace in the US market and enabled the internationalisation of the brand in a deeper and farther manner.

During the period, the Group had successfully sold 70% equity interests in Arena Shanghai, and commenced cooperation with another international trendy swimsuit brand for the operation of the market in the mainland China. The main focuses at this stage are integration of previous resources and market planning, so as to build up a development base for trendy swimsuit business.

On top of the branding business, the Group also strategically operates its retailing business under the “Park Outlets” brand in different regions of the PRC through the “Outlets + Community Malls” model. Located at Xiamen, Shenyang and Anyang, our outlets retail offers a rich mix of international and domestic brands, catering for the needs of big consumption with one-stop experience of shopping, entertainment and leisure. Our community malls retail is located at the municipalities Tianjin and Chongqing with geographical advantage and provides residents with shopping and services they need on a daily basis. During the period, the local tourist flow dropped significantly due to the lock-down and control measures against the pandemic in Shanghai, which had affected “Park Outlets” to a certain extent. Nevertheless, “Park Outlets” had seized the right timing to upgrade auxiliary facilities, strengthen management and continuously optimize consumers’ shopping experience. Upon stabilization of the pandemic, our outlets had successfully boosted consumption and increased traffic flow through outdoor activities and promotional offers. With years of strong foothold in the retail market in the mainland China, “Park Outlets” had become a retail chain brand with outstanding capability and competitiveness, and had demonstrated its resilience against different cycles of the retail industry.

Notwithstanding the fluctuating economic condition in the first half of the year, the Group’s financial business continued to grow steadily. As always, we are committed to serve our clients through our professionalism and pragmatism, aiming at becoming a reliable partner in managing and enhancing the wealth of our clients.