London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Hong Kong protests hit Burberry and Cathay Pacific

Two companies with major operations in Hong Kong have revealed the financial impact of violent protests in the City.

Luxury fashion house Burberry said Hong Kong sales had fallen sharply and would "remain under pressure".

Airline Cathay Pacific said the civil unrest had "been exceptionally challenging, severely impacting demand and operations of the business".

The anti-government protests have gripped Hong Kong for five months and rattled stock markets.


Protecting staff

Burberry said it had seen a "double digit" percentage decline in sales in Hong Kong - where it has 10 shops and usually generates about 8% of its sales.

However, its share of sales from Hong Kong fell to 5% in the latest quarter and chief financial officer Julie Brown said the group had been forced to close some stores to keep staff safe, although none had been damaged.

The retailer said it had written down the value of its stores in Hong Kong by £14m.

Despite this, total sales across the Burberry group rose 5% in the six months to 28 September. Marco Gobbetti, Burberry's chief executive, said the results were in line with the guidance earlier in the year despite the disruption in Hong Kong, and the retailer's shares climbed 5% in response.

Mr Gobbetti has been taking Burberry further upmarket since he took the helm two years ago and said the new collection from its chief creative officer Riccardo Tisci was generating "strong double digit growth".

Cathay Pacific - which is majority-owned by the Swire investment company, while Air China has a 30% stake - said the short-term outlook remained "challenging and uncertain".

The Hong Kong flag carrier lowered its profit guidance for the second time in less than a month.

The "forward bookings outlook remains weak and uncertain", the airline said, with passenger traffic dipping "significantly", particularly for inbound flights from mainland China.

The airline changed its top management in August when its then chief executive, Rupert Hogg, quit after the airline became embroiled in a controversy over the Hong Kong protests.

Cathay Pacific had initially told its staff it would not stop them joining the pro-democracy demonstrations, but days later Mr Hogg warned staff they could be fired if they "support or participate in illegal protests".

In Thursday's results presentation, the airline said inbound passenger traffic was down 38% in August and September, and 35% in October. It added it was reducing its fight capacity by 6% to 7% in the coming months.

The carrier is also deferring the delivery of four Airbus SE narrow body planes in 2020 as a result of the downturn in demand.

Luya You, an analyst at broking group Bocom International who attended Cathay's analyst briefing, told Reuters that the management "didn't rule out more extreme measures - grounding aircraft, severing leases, cancelling orders - if the situation in Hong Kong deteriorates or extends significantly beyond expectations".

All schools were closed on Thursday in Hong Kong as the territory faced another day of escalating unrest.

The protests started in June against plans to allow extradition to the mainland - which many feared would erode the city's freedoms.

Hong Kong is part of China, but as a former British colony it has some autonomy and people have more rights.

While the extradition plans were withdrawn in September, the demonstrations have continued, with protesters calling for an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality, and democratic reform.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×