Weekly News Wrap: Big luxury brands fret over China lockdowns; Sea surges after higher-than-expected gaming sales

And Singapore-based Zilingo fires its CEO amidst a probe on “irregularities.”

From Reuters:

Chloe Kou, a 28-year old beauty brand marketing manager from Shanghai, won't be buying her usual "one or two" high-end handbags this year. Instead, she plans to save not spend, and that is a problem for luxury brands.

China's current zero-COVID policy, with its attendant lockdowns, restrictions and economic impact have taken their toll on consumers' financial security.

"Luxury clothing or handbags, I definitely think are unnecessary right now, [because of] the uncertainty around my financial situation," Kou said.

If she is typical of many young, urban, middle-class professionals in cities around China, that is bad news for luxury brands which have relied heavily on mainland China for stellar growth in recent years.

From Bloomberg:

Sea Ltd. rose more than 14% after reporting core gaming revenue grew faster than expected, offsetting a slowdown across the rest of the Southeast Asian internet giant’s business as online activity retreated from pandemic-era heights.

Sea’s gaming arm, its most profitable division, posted sales of $1.14b, versus projections for less than $930m. Its shares climbed to their highest in almost two weeks, helped by a broader rally in New York.

But the Singaporean company’s e-commerce business underperformed. Consumers emerging from prolonged lockdowns are cutting back on online purchases, especially with the war in Ukraine and rising interest rates clouding the global economic outlook.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-17/sea-quarterly-loss-widens-after-consumers-cool-online-spending

From Reuters:

Singapore-based fashion startup Zilingo has fired its Chief Executive Officer Ankiti Bose after an independent investigation into "complaints of serious financial irregularities," the company said in an emailed statement.

Bose, who was initially suspended by the company earlier this year, said she had been wrongfully dismissed.

She told Reuters in an emailed statement that Zilingo had instructed a company named Kroll to investigate an "anonymous whistle-blower complaint" against her.

"At the point of my purported termination, I have yet to be presented with the findings of both Kroll AND Deloitte and my reports being incomplete, the board has wrongfully terminated me today for 'insubordination' without giving me a chance to address fully the concerns that have been raised," she said.