Jewellery giant Chow Tai Fook steps up global expansion with high-end Singapore store

SHENZHEN – Hong Kong-listed Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group is eyeing Singapore and the world outside the US for expansion as Chinese appetite for luxury wanes.

The 96-year-old company is opening a new upscale concept store at Changi Airport’s Jewel in October, where it hopes a higher price tag will not deter Singaporeans and tourists passing through the mall.

Singapore will be the first stop outside China for the brand’s new chain of premium outlets, followed by Bangkok before the end of the year.

The jewellery retailer, China’s largest, already runs eight such outlets in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Shenzhen as well as Hong Kong.

Its general manager for the international market, Ms Gabriela Ferreira, said that the brand is also looking at growing its investments in other territories, including South-east Asia and Canada, as it navigates the impact of US tariffs.

Like other businesses, the company’s only American store in Orange County, California, is subject to new import tariffs.

She said: “We have a two-pronged strategy. One is to revitalise existing locations and the second is to tap new potential.”

Ms Ferreira, hired from luxury house Loewe in September 2024 to drive global expansion, said opening its first premium store outside China in Singapore is a deliberate choice.

“We have been in the market for over 10 years already. We have a good brand reputation and we feel that it’s important for us to unveil a new image in Singapore.

“Then slowly, we will move to other South-east Asian markets,” she said following a media tour to the company’s factory in Foshan, China.

Popular among Chinese citizens living in Singapore and Chinese tourists looking for tax-free price differential, Chow Tai Fook hopes to draw more local customers and tourists of other nationalities.

It will keep its other six outlets in Singapore running, but exclusive designs for Singapore are being planned for sale at its Jewel shop.

The brand has over 6,000 stores worldwide. Only about 60 of these stores are located outside China, of which 20 are in South-east Asia.

Its master studio’s master craftsman, Mr Lei Hui, said the firm will explore designs reflecting both South-east Asian and Chinese characteristics for the regional market. He oversees about 100 craftsmen, who also create custom pieces for corporations and high-paying customers.

The premium stores are part of a brand refresh, planned to culminate at the brand’s 100th anniversary in 2029.

This comes as the jeweller took home 17.5 per cent less in revenue in the financial year ended March 31 due to softening sales in mainland China, where it draws more than 80 per cent of its earnings, according to its annual report.

The decline, however, was partially offset by strong performance from its eight premium stores in China, as well as new collections such as the Rouge and Palace Museum series, which beat sales expectations.

Teamed with cost cuts, the group’s operating profit rose nearly 10 per cent.

The brand’s new look introduces a fresh shade of red registered and owned by the firm. Its new-concept stores stand out for the less-cluttered jewellery display, private rooms and more expensive gem pieces.

Singapore has drawn the eyes of not just Chow Tai Fook, as rising gold prices in 2024 beat down gold jewellery sales in China by 25 per cent to 532.02 tonnes.

Laopu Gold, another China jeweller, opened its first overseas store just steps from the casino exit at Marina Bay Sands in June.

Ms Ferreira said she welcomes competition. “We are actually very happy to see an increase in consumer demand for Chinese jewellery and jewellery in general.”

Chow Tai Fook is planning to add an eighth outlet in Singapore by the end of December, after the upscale store opens in Jewel. The main hurdle to opening more stores, she said, is finding good locations.

Statista projects the Singapore jewellery market to grow 5 per cent annually in the next five years from US$1.13 billion (S$1.45 billion) in 2025. The market research portal projects that each Singaporean would splurge an average of US$186 on such accessories.

Singapore’s retail sales data for jewellery and watches bear out the trend. For the first seven months of 2025, the category registered consecutive growth except for the month of May.

Customers aged 35 and below are buying 20 per cent to 30 per cent more gold jewellery in recent years, spurred by marketing and awareness of soaring gold prices, according to the Singapore Jewellers Association in a recent report.

Correction note: The story has been edited to omit Latin America as one of the territories that Chow Tai Fook is exploring expansion in.