Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd and Sands China Ltd – two Macau casino operators with extensive shopping malls at their Cotai properties – have respectively told GGRAsia they are upbeat about their retail business for the remainder of 2026. That follows year-on-year improvement in first-quarter mall revenues, driven by luxury-product segments.
Galaxy Macau, Galaxy Entertainment’s flagship Cotai casino resort saw first-quarter mall net revenue up 19.4 percent year-on-year to HKD400 million (US$51.1 million). Judged sequentially, net revenue at its mall (pictured above) rose 11.1 percent. The Hong Kong-listed company had given highlights of its first-quarter trading in mid-May.
The mall-revenue gain for the three months to March 31 was led by luxury retailing, a spokesperson from Galaxy Entertainment confirmed to GGRAsia, adding there had been “increased footfall” in the period.
“The improvement in the first quarter was led primarily by the higher-end categories, with high-end jewellery continuing to outperform other segments,” stated the Galaxy Entertainment spokesperson.
The person added: “While retail globally has been challenging amid a higher cost of living, we still delivered solid results, driven by demand for unique and exclusive jewellery pieces.”
Retail sales of what the firm termed “athleisure” brands had been “resilient”, said the person.
Fellow casino-resort operator Sands China Ltd, saw its Cotai malls’ first-quarter net revenue up 8.9 percent year-on-year to US$135 million. The tally was nonetheless down 4.3 percent from fourth-quarter 2025.
The year-on-year growth – amounting to US$11-million – had been driven by “increases of US$9 million in overage rent”, “US$1 million in base rent”, and another “US$1 million in revenues related to common area maintenance”, according to the first-quarter financial report from Sands China’s parent, the United States-based Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS).
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.
As of full-year 2025, “Sands Shoppes Macao” – encompassing all Sands China’s retail business in the city – had a 43-percent market share of Macau-wide retail sales, the casino operator told GGRAsia, which it said was up from a 40-percent share in 2024.
Sands China saw a “quarterly all time high” in tenant sales in the three months ended March 31, mentioned the company’s chief executive and president Grant Chum Kwan Lock in the call with analysts after the first-quarter earnings statement of Las Vegas Sands.
The tenant-sales growth has been driven by the “jewellery and watch” sector, mentioned Mr Chum on the call. The Sands China chief executive also flagged “significant growth” in the fashion retail segment in the first quarter.
For Shoppes at Venetian (pictured above) and Shoppes at Londoner, first-quarter tenant sales per square foot tracked double-digit percent in growth year-on-year. Such a 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.
First-quarter tenant sales per sq. ft at Shoppes at Venetian were US$2,137, up 34.6 percent year-on-year. For Shoppes at Londoner the figure was US$1,765, up by 30.2 percent year-on-year.
Tenant sales at Shoppes at Four Seasons during the first quarter – which remained the highest amongst Sands China’s Macau operations – stood at US$4,606, down 2.5 percent year-on-year.
The other four Macau casino operators do not report mall performance as a distinct item in their financial results.
Calendar-year outlook
In comments to GGRAsia, Sands China said it has seen an “uplift” across its retail business that “started in mid-2025”, followed by a record-high tenant sales performance in the first quarter of this year.
The company additionally remarked that “the appreciation trend” of China’s currency the yuan could continue to contribute to a positive outlook for its retail business.
Goods and services offered in Macau are mostly denominated in the local currency, the Macau pataca – which is indirectly pegged to the US dollar. A majority of visitors to Macau is from the Chinese mainland, and may have their assets denominated primarily in yuan.
Galaxy Entertainment shares optimism for the outlook of retail business through 2026. It further noted to GGRAsia that “solid demand” in its mall operations “around the May Golden Week” – a reference to the recent Labour Day holiday season – provided a “positive near-term indicator”.
A Galaxy Entertainment spokesperson remarked addtionally to GGRAsia.“We remain optimistic about the outlook through 2026, while recognising the external environment remains mixed and performance can vary by [retail] category.”
The person added: “Our confidence is supported by resilience in key categories, where we expect high-end jewellery to remain relatively strong.
“In addition, ‘athleisure’ has continued to perform well and gain momentum. As visitation grows and Macau’s visitor experience continues to broaden, this supports non-gaming spend, especially in categories aligned with higher-value customers.”
Galaxy Entertainment has “continued to receive new tenant enquiries” for its mall business, it also noted to GGRAsia.
The person further observed: “We will keep optimising tenant mix and the overall retail proposition to maintain relevance and competitiveness.
“At the same time, we remain disciplined and selective in retail segments, focusing on the quality of sales.”
