HKTV labels eCommerce its 'cash cow', plans campaigns in H2 to grow customers

HKTV has described its eCommerce platform HKTVmall as its cash cow of the group, saying that the first half of 2021, there was profitable business performance brought from the continued growth of HKTVmall.

Parent company of HKTVMall Hong Kong Technology Venture (HKTV, formerly know as Hong Kong Television Network) recorded 3% increase in net profit in the first half of 2021, while the flagship HKTVmall business continued to grow. Its turnover increased by about 13.3% to HK$1,518.1 million in the first half of 2021 compared to HK$1,340.0 million in the first half of 2020, including multimedia advertising income and licensing of programme rights of HK$48.1 million compared to first half of 2020 numbers of HK$10.1 million.

Average daily orders increased from 29,800 orders per day in June 2020, to 36,500 orders per day in June 2021, and subsequently even achieved a record high in July 2021 of 40,600 orders per day. However, the average order value dropped from about HK$508 in H1 2020 to HK$465 in H1 2021. Meanwhile, HKTVmall had 896,000 unique customers who made purchases at on the platform, a year-over-year growth of 10.2% from 813,000.

HKTV said following the continuous development of its online shopping mall and further extension to digital ecosystem, the role of HKTVmall to the overall business of the group will transcend. Looking ahead, the company said it will be more focusing on expanding the depth and breadth of HKTVmall’s online merchant and customer portfolio, expanding multimedia advertising revenue stream and continue to complete HKTVmall platform by adding technical enrichments for better engagement.

In the second half of 2021, HKTV will solidify and grow its customer and merchant base through various campaigns, including the acceleration of its online and offline synergy, the launch of public housing estate penetration campaigns and HKTV eCommerce Academy, as well as the adoption of personalisation empowered by big data.

HKTVmall said it will also make joint efforts with the group’s technology arm Shoalter to grow its business. Shoalter will launch an online shopping mall for fashion retailer I.T. in Q4 2021, while entered into a share subscription agreement and a shareholders’ agreement with Indonesian company Karya Hasta Dinamika. Karya Hasta Dinamika is also known as KALCare, and is an online shopping mall that focuses on eCommerce for healthcare and wellness products.

In the announcement of its interim results, chairman Paul Cheung Chi-kin and vice chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay dedicated a section "Our Dream" to elaborate on their visions of the company. 

"On different occasions, we were asked whether we think HKTVmall is successful, and what will the future direction be. To us, HKTVmall is a success in terms of business performance, and it is one of the few online shopping operations globally, which can turnaround and make profit in just five years. In terms of technology innovation, HKTVmall successfully proved the operation model for eCommerce in Hong Kong, and how to change business and support operations with technology,” he said.

They added that the company is targeting to have about 50% profit coming from technology business under Shoalter in five years, leading the company to become an international technology enterprise valuing at multi billions dollars.

"HKTVmall is not only a commercial operation, it is also a place for us and our team to demonstrate our capability and to realise our dream," they concluded. 

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