Retail in Asia

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Dairy Farm to boost spending on hypermarkets, beauty chains

Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd, Hong Kong’s second biggest retailer, will increase spending on hypermarkets in Southeast Asia and its health and beauty chain in China.

Capital spending may rise about 4 percent to at least USD300 million as the company builds hypermarkets in Indonesia, Malaysia and possibly Vietnam, Howard Mowlem, Dairy Farm’s Group Financial Director said late on Thursday. In China, where "margins are pretty thin" for hypermarkets, the company will focus on smaller health and beauty stores, he said.

"Health and beauty has proved to be one of the more resilient sectors, even in the downturn," Mowlem said in an interview in Hong Kong. "There are some luxuries that ladies don’t want to compromise on; facial treatments and hair colouring are not things that people give up even in tough times."