Sa Sa's mainland same-store sales up

Sa Sa International Holdings Ltd, Hong Kong's biggest cosmetics retail chain, said same-store sales growth picked up on the mainland over the past two months as an improving economy boosted demand.

Sales for mainland shops opened at least a year rose 10.4 percent in October and November, compared with 5.9 percent for the six months ended September, Chief Financial Officer Guy Look said in an interview on Friday.

The Hong Kong-based seller of Estee Lauder and Chanel products expects better growth in the second half of year as the economy recovers from a slowdown that had forced it to curb the speed of its expansion, Look said.

The retailer plans to add nine stores to the existing 53 outlets on the mainland by the end of March next year and at least another 20 in the fiscal year ended March 2014. The company has become "more optimistic" about the outlook for the third and fourth quarters because of mainland growth momentum, he said.