Sands China, Galaxy Ent mall revenue growth continues in 2Q

Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd and Sands China Ltd – two Macau casino operators with extensive retail operations at their Cotai resorts – each recorded year-on-year improvement in key mall indicators in the second quarter, reinforcing the positive outlook for 2026 they had outlined earlier this year. Galaxy Macau, Galaxy Entertainment’s flagship casino resort, saw second-quarter mall net revenue rise 15.6 percent year-on-year to HKD379 million (US$48.3 million). Judged sequentially, mall net revenue declined 5.3 percent, according to the firm’s results for the three months to June 30. Macau market rival casino operator Sands China recorded US$131 million in second-quarter net revenue from its Cotai malls, up 4.8 percent year-on-year, though down 3.0 percent from the first quarter. The year-on-year improvement for Sands China’s Cotai mall operations was driven by “increases of US$4 million in overage rent” and “US$2 million in base rent”, according to the second-quarter financial report from the firm’s parent, United States-based Las Vegas Sands Corp. The main Sands China malls are at its Cotai properties: The Venetian Macao; The Londoner Macao; the combined The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Macao; and The Parisian Macao. The latest performance follows first-quarter year-on-year mall net revenue growth of 19.4 percent at Galaxy Macau and 8.9 percent across Sands China’s malls at its Cotai properties. Both operators had told GGRAsia following their first-quarter results that they were positive about the outlook for their respective retail businesses for the remainder of 2026. Jefferies analysts Anne Ling and Jingjue Pei said in a recent memo that Galaxy Entertainment’s retail performance was “resilient” despite disruption linked to the FIFA World Cup football tournament. “Key growth categories included gold jewellery and luxury watches, supported by Galaxy Entertainment’s high-value customer base, favourable renminbi-Hong Kong dollar exchange rate dynamics, and some luxury spending being redirected from Japan back to Hong Kong and Macau,” the analysts stated. Luxury business improvement Galaxy Entertainment had previously told GGRAsia it expected high-end jewellery retailing to “remain relatively strong” through 2026, while “athleisure” – a hybrid fashion style mixing athletic and casual wear – continued to perform well. The casino firm had also said it remained “optimistic about the outlook through 2026”, while acknowledging a “challenging” environment for the global economy. Sands China’s latest tenant-sales figures also pointed to continued improvement in its Cotai retail business. For Shoppes at Venetian and Shoppes at Londoner, second-quarter tenant sales per square foot tracked double-digit percent growth year-on-year. Such figure is measured using the sum of reported comparable sales for the trailing 12 months, divided by the comparable square footage for the same period. Second-quarter tenant sales per square foot at Shoppes at Venetian, inside The Venetian Macao, were US$2,161, up 27.1 percent from a year earlier, while the figure at Shoppes at Londoner, part of The Londoner Macao complex, increased 24.9 percent year-on-year, to US$1,886. The measurement uses the sum of reported comparable sales for the trailing 12 months, divided by comparable square footage for the same period. Shoppes at Four Seasons – where a number of high-end brands is concentrated – remained Sands China’s best-performing Macau mall on that measure. Tenant sales per square foot reached US$4,650 in the second quarter, up 7.2 percent year-on-year. The result ended seven consecutive quarters of year-on-year decline at Shoppes at Four Seasons, which had recorded a post-Covid peak of US$6,958 in the first quarter of 2024. The latest quarterly figure is still below that peak, but the return to growth provides an indication of improvement in Macau’s luxury retail segment despite what observers describe as a “challenging consumer environment” in mainland China. Nomura analysts said in recent research covering global luxury groups LVMH, Kering and Hermès, that China’s luxury-consumption segment still had room for “structural growth”, although performance remained mixed. While some luxury-goods conglomerates pointed to “signs of business stabilisation” in the Chinese market during the first half of 2026, others observed that Chinese consumers had “become more selective, more experience-driven, and shifting toward local preferences,” noted Nomura. Sands China had previously told GGRAsia it had observed an “uplift” in its retail business starting in mid-2025, while noting that appreciation of China’s currency the renminbi, could contribute to a positive outlook for its retail business. Both Macau operators have meanwhile continued to refresh their Cotai mall offerings. At Sands China malls, second-quarter openings included: Laopu Gold; Boss; On; Hublot; and a Dior men’s boutique. Galaxy Promenade at Galaxy Macau added brands such as Tory Burch, Marni and Emporio Armani. Outside the reporting period, further openings in July included Miniso Land at Shoppes at Venetian; Montblanc at Shoppes at Four Seasons; and a reopened Louis Vuitton boutique and a Coach outlet at Galaxy Promenade, per GGRAsia’s checks.