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Chow Tai Fook Jewellery\u2019s new flagship store, which opened in Hong Kong\u2019s Central neighborhood in September, has a subtle design, as does much of the jewelry sold inside. The name above the door doesn\u2019t sport the Chinese characters for \u201cChow Tai Fook\u201d shown prominently atop the retailer\u2019s thousands of other outlets. And inside, the store\u2019s design hearkens to some of the traditional images of Hong Kong; the metal grille that covers the columns is a reference to the Chinese city\u2019s ubiquitous bamboo scaffolding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The jewelry, too, is more understated, like a diamond-studded pendant made from gold and red enamel, designed to emulate the Chinese characters that make up the name of the store and of Cheng Yu Tung, who expanded the jewelry chain into one of Hong Kong\u2019s leading conglomerates.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In April, Chow Tai Fook charged Nicholas Lieou, the retailer\u2019s creative director for high jewelry, with the responsibility of refreshing and revamping the 95-year-old brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Chow Tai Fook<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIn Chinese jewelry, [the craftsmen] try to overload a lot of cultural significance on one piece, which makes it very heavy,\u201d Lieou said in an interview in mid-November. \u201cJust using one concept, one idea, into a piece of jewelry is already a very modern take on what they traditionally would do.\u201d<\/p>\n
A luxury downturn is putting more pressure on Chow Tai Fook\u2019s rebrand. The retailer reported 39.4 billion Hong Kong dollars ($5.1 billion) in revenue for the six months ending<\/a> Sep. 30, 2024, the first half of the jewelry company\u2019s fiscal year. That represents a 20.4% drop year-on-year, the largest since 2016.<\/p>\n Chow Tai Fook relies heavily on mainland China. Almost all of the retailer\u2019s around 7,000 outlets are in mainland China. The company\u2019s second-largest footprint is in Hong Kong, where tourism numbers have stayed stubbornly low.\u00a0<\/p>\n