"We are gaining tremendous market share because we're creating products at the prices that people want," he said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Hong Kong yesterday. "Everybody is trading down."
US consumers hurt by job losses and tighter credit are spending more at discount retailers such as Family Dollar Stores and Wal-Mart, which last week posted sales exceeding forecasts.
Hong Kong-based Li & Fung, which makes two-thirds of its sales in the US, has surged 20 percent this year in Hong Kong trading.
While the luxury-goods industry "did really well" in previous recessions, "this time the rich are getting hit pretty hard", Rockowitz said. "All the high-end retailers are generally pretty bad right now."
The economic stimulus package sought by US President Barack Obama "is a good step toward the right direction", Rockowitz said.
Plunging home values and the worst unemployment in almost 16 years have hurt consumers and companies in the US, damping demand for consumer goods.
Li & Fung jumped 7.7 percent to close at HK$15.94 in Hong Kong trading, the most since Dec 10, making it the second-biggest gainer on the Hang Seng Index, which was up a slight 0.8 percent.
Still, the company's US clients are preparing for business to be "15 to 20 percent less", Rockowitz said. "They are cutting their inventory. How's that affecting us? It's a very difficult world. We are doing our best to get our customers with lower prices."
Consumers
US unemployment may rise to about 10 percent, he added. "It's by far the worst economic environment that we've had to deal with. It's really the first time there has been a major change in the spending patterns of people."
Consumers have become more careful with regard to spending, even on basic necessities, as their disposable income falls, Sophie Fan, a Hong Kong-based consumer analyst at CSC Securities HK Ltd, said in a telephone interview.
That makes it difficult for retail companies to maintain growth, she said.
"Everyone is hard hit by the crisis - the rich as well as the middle-class consumers," Fan said. "Department stores, hypermarts and supermarkets are expecting zero-percent or flat growth, and this is a reflection of the diminishing buying power of consumers."
