Sa Sa International, the largest cosmetic retailer in the Asia-Pacific, says the Hong Kong market has yet to peak – and that the age of customers in the city is changing, reported the South China Morning Post.

Simon Kwok Siu-ming, the chairman and chief executive of Sa Sa, spoke at a Chinese General Chamber of Commerce forum on December 10th and said that younger teens are buying cosmetics, like nail polish, on their own now. This wasn’t always the case – girls would buy their first lipstick with their mom after graduating high school.

Sa Sa says that senior citizens are another potential market, since they are starting to use cosmetics more frequently now.

Kwok Siu-ming disagrees with those who say the market in Hong Kong has been topped – and Sa Sa plans to open 10 new retail locations in Hong Kong within 5 years.

Sa Sa has about 100 locations in Hong Kong and Macau, which account for 80 per cent of the company’s total sales. Despite high rental costs, Sa Sa’s sales increased 20% year on year to HK$2.6 billion in the six months leading up to September, while net profit increased 32 per cent to HK$375 million.

The mainland market accounts for 5 per cent of Sa Sa’s sales, and Kwok said this area has even more potential – the market size in Macau is 18 times bigger than that of Hong Kong. But, expansion in Macau is more difficult. Sa Sa’s 58 shops there suffered a deficit of HK$27.2 million in the first half, adding to an eight-year losing streak.