Friday, March 29, 2024
 
Columnist
Martin Hennecke
 
PERFECT SHAPE
HKEx Stock Code : 01830 
 
Corporate Profile
The Group is a well-established slimming and beauty service provider and operate under the well-known brand name ¡¥¡¥Perfect Shape ¥²½G¯¸'', targeting mid to high-end clients in the PRC, Hong Kong and Macau.

Business Review - For the year ended March 31, 2013

Immense market potential

Pursuit of beauty has been part of an undeniable nature of human being, its importance has been seen moving upward, in view of surging awareness of appearance and various technology breakthroughs. With reference to the market of China, where the Group's business is mainly located, slimming and beauty services continued to grow in the year ended 31 March 2013, despite the continuous economic fluctuation. According to Ibis World's report on skincare, hairdressing and beauty service, revenue generated across the industry totaled US$961.3 million, up by 7.6% for the year, with annualized growth of 7.1% since 2007. This reflected that the market, which has experienced strong and regular growth, is particularly solid and resilient.

Winning Strategy

The burgeoning market of China has resulted in increasing competition. In encountering the competition, the Group is committed to building our brand ¡§Perfect Shape¡¨ which distinguishes it from its competitors. The Group continued to strengthen its market position by employing endorsements from celebrities and expanding its geographical coverage.

According to the trend that Euromonitor subscribes to, it is expected that the premium segment will capture greater market share as consumers continue to migrate upwards. Such observation supported the strategy of targeting mid-to-high-end customers. Among other measures discussed herein, the locations sought for new centres were strictly limited to the prestigious shopping areas.

To date, the Company has over 100,000 members in the PRC, Hong Kong and Macau. This impressive clientele has helped to instill confidence among new members, while referrals have also aided the Group to grasp new market opportunities.

Promising business portfolio

With the tremendous business opportunities arising from the medical beauty services, the Group has reviewed its business portfolio in early 2012 and decided to allocate more resources in developing this business segment, which promised the Group with higher profit margins. Subsequent to the year ended 31 March 2012, the Group recorded satisfactory performance in its medical beauty services, and the sales from this sector are expected to grow further.

Health and safety have laid down the foundation of Perfect Shape. The Group's management team, with their significant medical knowledge and expertise, is determined to further expand the medical beauty services. In particular, the founder and chief executive officer of the Company, Dr Au-Yeung Kong is a registered medical practitioner who has extensive experience in the slimming and medical beauty industry. Being fully capable of selecting or referring suitable medical practitioners to perform medical beauty services, this underscores the Company's commitment to customer safety. Even prior to a fatalistic accidents caused by intravenous therapy in a centre operated by a competitor in Hong Kong last October, the Group has solely offered non-invasive, results driven cosmetic enhancements. The Group will continue to dedicate precaution in formulating the range of services and products.

Mainland China Operations

The Company has a strong network in the PRC. During the year under review, the Group recorded revenue of HK$298,852,000 from its operations in Mainland China, representing a year-on-year growth of 2.4% compared with the revenue of HK$291,745,000 recorded last year.

Of the over 60 service centres of the Group, almost 90% are located in Mainland China. These centres are located in major metropolitan cities, namely Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dongguan, Foshan, Nanjing and Tianjin.

Hong Kong and Macau Operations

During the year under review, the Group recorded revenue of HK$144,174,000 from its operations in Hong Kong and Macau, representing a year-on-year significant growth of 61.2% compared with the revenue of HK$89,415,000 recorded last year.

In additional to ¡§Perfect Shape¡¨, ¡§Perfect Medical¡¨, with two service centres in Hong Kong, is also under the Group to provide its medical beauty service, which focuses in laser treatments.

Save for the services retailing which the Group has been engaged for a decade, the Group has explored the business-to-business market as well. After the financial year ended 31 March 2013, the Group has launched cosmetic equipment distribution business. With the Group's established relationship with suppliers, it is believed that the distribution business will provide an alternative source of steady income for the Group.

Business Outlook - For the year ended March 31, 2013

Under the combined effects of population growth, urbanization, progress in infrastructure and growth in China's GDP, the population with access to advanced beauty technology is believed to grow in the coming decade, boosted by the rapid rise of urban middle class. We believe that securing market share under our brand ¡§Perfect Shape¡¨ is essential in leveraging the robust growth of the slimming and medical beauty market. The Group will uphold its plan in maximizing its brand coverage over the entire region by the year ending March 2015. Save for seeking suitable locations in opening new branches, the Group has also considered introduction of quality business partners by means of, including but not limited to, franchising. Moreover, our expansion is not limited in the Mainland China. The Group will look for joint venture formation to extend our business outside Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China when opportunity arises.

The Group plans to launch multi-clinics offering one-stop beauty and health management services. Premium medical beauty services, anti-aging treatments and body checks will be offered to customers in these clinics. In doing so, the Company will leverage its strong customer base to enter into this business segment and increase its revenue stream.

Notwithstanding the goal of progressive expansion, the customer experience will not be compromised. In order to safeguard the hallmark of ¡§Perfect Shape¡¨, we will continue to take ultra precaution in reviewing the range of services and products to be offered and the choice of locations of our new centres, in order to have continuous steady growth in the industry.

Source: Perfect Shape (01830) Annual Results Announcement
Chairman Au Yeung Kong Issued Capital (shares) 1,000M
Par Value HKD 0.1 Market Capitalisation (HKD) 770M
 
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