to director, Mr. Zhang Qiang, Senior Vice President. Vice President, Ms. Zhang Huij ing. Vice President, Mr. Ding Chao. Ms. Rebecca Zhang, Head of Capital Markets. In today's presentation, Mr. Yu will begin with a brief review of the interim results from the past fiscal year. Following that, the management will present an update on the midterm financial performance and business progress. Okay, please join me to welcome Mr. Yu to provide the opening.
Good morning, dear investors and analysts and friends. Welcome to Topsports' Mid-Term Performance Conference. During the first half of the fiscal year, amid a sluggish macroeconomic consumption climate and diminished foot traffic, the company's overall operational performance aligned closely with the projections we shared with you in September. Despite numerous challenges, we have never wavered and have consistently pursued a proactive, forward-looking strategic approach.
By implementing a flexible and targeted omni-channel business strategy, we continue to enhance our integrated retail framework that merges online and offline channels. We conduct a thorough analysis of flow characteristics and consumer preferences across various scenarios, implementing targeted optimizations and enhancements. This approach enables us to achieve more precise customer acquisition and improve the user experience. We are proactively broadening our category layout with the forward-looking vision, forging connections with new friends, and further solidifying and enhancing our market advantages across various sports sub-sectors. Despite the persistently challenging operating environment, we consistently adhere to our long-term strategy, grounded in robust and efficient retail operational fundamentals, while maintaining prudent cash flow management in the face of adversity.
And building on this foundation, we remain dedicated to delivering shareholder value, achieving a dividend payout ratio of 39.9% in the first half, close to 100%, thereby maintaining a leading position in industry. Looking ahead to the latter half of the year, based on current market observation, the overall consumer market remains somewhat unclear. On the macroeconomic policy front, a suite of measures designed to stimulate consumption is poised for implementation. We anticipate beneficial shifts across the entire consumer market, sports consumption included, as these policies take effect and the market self-corrects. At Topsports, no matter how the external environment shifts, we consistently maintain clear judgment and adapt our response strategies accordingly. My management team and I are committed to steering the company ahead, constantly strengthening our business core, seeking out new avenues for growth, and expanding our trajectory towards future development.
Next, I will pass the floor to Rebecca, who will review our mid-term financial performance. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Yu. Now, for the update on our financial performance in the first half. From a broad viewpoint, there are essentially three key points. The first one, for income statement, it largely aligns with what we disclosed at the end of September. The drop in revenue stemmed primarily from subdued macroeconomic demand and diminished foot traffic from offline customers. Analyzing various scenarios, it's clear that in terms of revenue and the profit, some of these offline channels are facing significant pressure. Conversely, viewed from an online standpoint, there has been an enhancement in both revenue and profit, yielding a positive impact. The primary reason for the overall drop in profits remains the significant negative impact of the leverage effect from brick-and-mortar stores.
We underscore the necessity for omnichannel operations, grounded in the transformation of the digital and physical realms within the sports industry post-pandemic. And moving forward, we anticipate that online platforms will dominate, yet we must avoid excessive pessimism regarding the brick-and-mortar stores. So a flexible offline framework will remain key to engaging consumers over time. Secondly, just like what Mr. Yu has mentioned earlier, despite the impact on the income statement, Topsports has consistently maintained a strong edge and its core competitiveness, which lies in our robust cash generation capability. As the first half of the fiscal year came to a close, cash and cash equivalents stood at CNY 400 million, and we have also registered 35% decline in our pre-tax profit. However, the breakdown of cash flow reveals that operating cash flow rose by 2.5%....
The free cash flow is at CNY 2.84 billion. And compared with last year, it's a 2.8-fold increase in net profit from the same period. So this number is turning for the better. Consequently, the board of directors has declared an interim dividend of 99% payout ratio, about CNY 0.14 per share. So just like we said earlier, without any major project investment, our targeted dividend payout ratio is 100%, which is above industry scale. Now, I will briefly discuss the various components of our financial performance. The overall revenue fell by 7.9% to CNY 13.05 billion.
Regarding different channels, retail business revenue fell by 8.9% to CNY 10.92 billion. Wholesale business revenue fell by 2.2% to CNY 2.04 billion. Regarding different brands, the main brand sales revenue fell by 8.1% to CNY 11.35 billion. The wholesales revenue from other brands dropped by 6.5% to CNY 1.61 billion. Consequently, the main brand contributed 87.6% to the total good sales revenue, a marginal dip of a 0.2% from the previous period. Whereas the other brands made up 12.4% of the revenue, marking a slight rise of 0.2% from the same period. Regarding GP margin, we have experienced a year-on-year decline of 3.6%.
There are several primary reasons contributing to this, so I'd like to share with them. The first one is the discount rate. It has deepened on a year-on-year basis, attributable to two factors previously outlined in our September announcement. The first factor is the decline in sales, coupled with a rise in inventory, leading to heightened discount intensity. The second factor is the inherently lower absolute value of online discount rates compared to offline ones. This is a consistent industry phenomenon. There are more discounts for online. So consequently, an increase in the share of online revenue results in a year-on-year reduction in overall discount rate. Secondly, concerning the adverse effects stemming from the shift in sales distribution between direct to sales and wholesale channels.
Typically, the GP margin for wholesale channels is lower compared to direct to retail channels. So during the first half, the share of revenue from wholesale channels rose by nearly 1%, and this shift negatively influenced the GP margin, yet it had a positive impact on the profit. Thirdly, in the first half, an increase in inventory necessitated adjustments of roughly CNY 90 million for inventory provisions. Additionally, other project factors also contributed to a negative impact on the GP margin. So if you look at this chart, you can see in the first half, the GP margin, the core reason for the GP margin decline is the changes in the discount rate. Now, in this slide, let us examine the overall expense ratio of the period. Some of the what are the key components for the expenses?
Like I said earlier, the revenue fell by 7.9%, while the total expenses also saw a reduction of a 7.4%. So consequently, the expense ratio experienced a slight uptick of 0.2%, reaching 33.1%. Against a challenging environment, we continue to uphold our advantage in a high efficiency, proactively adapt, and manage the overall input-output efficiency effectively. Now, the primary components of expenses remain these two core parts, rent and labor costs. Now, examining individually, the overall estimated rental cost, including rent and also some other overheads, and saw a year-on-year decrease of 17.2%. The rental cost ratio dropped by 1.3%, significantly aiding in overall cost control. It's the largest contributor to cost control.
There are several factors, as you can tell, in the first half. We've been streamlining our brick-and-mortar stores, so the number of physical stores have dropped by 6.4%. Secondly, like we, like, you know, we have a very flexible rental structure. If you look at the financial statement, we maintain a rather flexible rental structure, so the rent accounts for 70% among the estimated rental costs. So it can be understood as about 70% of the rent they are flexible and connected to the sales. In the first half, we have a double-digit decrease in foot traffic, so there's a flexible rental structure also played a role in tuning down the total rental cost.
In addition, in the first half, we would strive to obtain better property conditions. We'll be proactively communicating with the property service, and that will be able to offset some of these additional expenses. And also there's a change in the different channel mix. Like I said earlier, the proportion of retail revenue from online business has grown in the first half. And the change in the proportion of online retail, it will also help with the rental cost issue. Now, at the employee level, we ensure personnel allocation aligns with the overarching requirements, resulting in a year-on-year decrease in overall employee costs by 3.7%, accompanied by a cost ratio uptick of 0.4% to 10.4%.
The revenue decline in the first half of the year maintained a degree of operating leverage effect on the total employee cost. However, unlike channel rental costs, we believe that our employees are the cornerstone of the company's long-term growth. So it is essential to maintain an appropriate balance at this level to ensure sustained competitiveness in the future. As to the other expenses, they primarily consist of the depreciation of equipment and also the plants and equipment, along with various online platform-related costs, such as operating expenses and logistics and the courier fees. In the first half, we saw a year-on-year rise in the other expense ratio of 1.1%, primarily attributed to the swift expansion of online platform sales, which encompass private domain, live streaming, and also the associated costs that have escalated.
So from the standpoint of the overall cost ratio, the results above represent the breakdown of each major expense category according to the nature of the expenses. Yet, when examining the business performance throughout the first half of the year, the primary downside has been the impact of offline operation, the leveraging. And this has been counterbalanced by a pair of positive influences. So regarding the extent of contribution, the first one is the shift in the sales distribution, notably the rise in the share of online retail and also wholesale operations. This is the primary contributor. And the other point is, the enhancement of the year-over-year expense ratio for online retail, so serving as a secondary influencer. Now, let's turn to slide number eight and proceed with the analysis of the year-over-year variations in net profit.
As you can tell from the chart, the primary factor impacting net profit is the decrease in our GP margin during the first half. While the remaining items, including the total expense, the government subsidies, and also the net financing costs, and also the tax expenses, they all contribute positively. Now, if you look at the chart on the right-hand side, examining the year-over-year shifts impacting net profit margin, the decrease in the GP margin and the modest uptick in expense ratio stand out as adverse influence. Conversely, the persisting government subsidies, net financing costs, and tax expenses contribute positively. If you look at the positive contributions, government subsidies saw a year-on-year surge of 101%, bolstered by the carrying over of the subsidies resulting from elevated tax payments in the previous year.
The ratio of the government subsidy expenses contributed positively to net profit by 0.3%. Income tax fell by 37% year-on-year, mirroring the scale of the shift in a pre-tax profit. Income tax also contributed positively by 0.8% to the net profit. Now, let's switch gear to discuss our operational capital efficiency. First of all, due to a downturn in the sales, inventory levels rose by 6.4%, while inventory turnover days extended by 7.4 days, reaching 148.3 days. Comparing sales and inventory levels, the inventory-to-sales ratio has been referenced industry-wide. The inventory-to-sales ratio consistently falls within a four- to five-month range.
When examining the inventory structure, namely the ratio of new to old products, the overall share of new product has remained stable. Simultaneously, we have collaborated with brands to devise response strategies, coupled with the ongoing implementation and execution of the long-term omni-channel measures. We are confident that the overall inventory would be manageable. The trade receivables fell by 22.5% year-on-year, but the turnover days rose by 1.3 days to 16.1 days. Trade payables surged 82.5% year-over-year, but the turnover days shortened by 2.3 days, down to 14.8 days. The fluctuation in the turnover days for these two items is primarily attributed to the drop in revenue and the varying values of the comparative base across the two periods.
Due to the above factors, the cash cycle days have lengthened by 11.1 days to 149.7 days. In the first half, the operating cash has dropped by CNY 290 million, so dropped by 45%, which is consistent with the trend of the revenue decline. Also, in first half, we have registered like 26 percentage points, which has improved year on year. But basically, it's also quite flat and quite stable, so we've been maintaining a high level operating cash flow management. Now let's turn to page 11. This slide has presented the capabilities of a cash generation. We have also used the two colors to highlight.
The gray color stands for a negative one, influence, while the blue color stands for positive, contribution. The most significant positive contribution is the cash flow statement. Although declining profits have made an impact, but the net cash flow from operating activities reached CNY 2.61 billion, marking a 2.5% rise from the same period last year. Now, if you look at the right side, another significant negative factor, located on the far right, is same from our dividend pay, payout. We have consistently delivered high and stable dividends to our shareholders. As you can see, the total dividend, payout representing 63% of, the initial cash.
The closing cash balance stood at CNY 2.84 billion, marking a 45% rise from a month-to-month perspective, consistently maintaining a strong cash generation capabilities, even though we are facing a challenging economic environment, and also the foot traffic is also diminishing, and that would also have some impact on our profit, but if you look at this chart, you can see clearly that this showcases the trend of our cash flow. We've been maintaining a very stable cash generation and also marking a 45% rise. Now, let's discuss the last part of the financial performance, and also I believe this is also interested by many investors. This is the dividend payout strategy.
Now, first of all, if you look at the right-hand side, regarding the capital allocation strategy, there are three ones. In terms of cash generation, it will be used for three areas. The first one will be to support the organic business growth. And secondly, the cash will be used to invest in opportunities for scale expansion. And thirdly, it will be used to deliver outstanding cash returns to shareholders. We have consistently adhered to this philosophy, judging by our actions and also the results. We've been implementing this strategy. Now, reviewing the fiscal year's actual cash position, as you can tell from the chart at the left-hand side, our free cash flow, like I said earlier, we aim to support organic business growth and invest in opportunities for scale expansion.
In addition to all that, we have reserved adequate cash flow reserve. So the free cash flow reached CNY 2.4 billion, and the free cash flow per share stood at CNY 0.39, marking a 1.8% year-on-year increase. Additionally, the free cash flow was 2.8 x the net profit for the corresponding period. This has made a major improvement compared with the same period last year, establishing a robust foundation for our dividend payout. Consequently, we, like I said earlier, we propose the declaration of an interim dividend of CNY 0.14 per share for the current fiscal year, representing a dividend payout ratio of 99.4%, which is consistent with our previous commitment.
This has also outperformed the Hong Kong-listed sporting goods companies. So from fiscal year 2019-20 to fiscal year 2024-25, we deliver an estimated altogether about CNY 13 billion in consistent high dividend returns to shareholders. The total dividend amount equals the total net profit, about 1.03 x. We share a mutual understanding and also act in unison, continue to provide high dividends to guarantee the returns for the shareholder. So that's all for the financial review. Now I'll hand over the floor to Mr. Zhang. Okay. Thank you, Rebecca. During the first half of the fiscal year, amidst a complex and challenging global environment, the overall Chinese economy maintained stability and exhibited signs of progress.
Nonetheless, rising pressure on household incomes and also a persistent decrease in housing prices have somewhat dampened consumer enthusiasm. Amidst the overall decline in consumer demand, we were facing continuous pressures of dwindling foot traffic, further compounded by a broad shift in consumer behavior from in-person to online shopping. So this transition makes it increasingly challenging for physical retailers to join customers. So against this backdrop, we proactively adapted by refining our omnichannel retail strategy, and this begins with reconfiguring our brick-and-mortar locations, broadening our online footprint, and improving omnichannel product management. In the first half, even though the consumption market is sluggish, but we've been uncovering the potential opportunities.
With ongoing supportive policies and also the momentum generated by various sporting events, fueling national enthusiasm for sports, the growth prospect of the sports market concurrently outpaced those of general consumption. At the same time, we've observed that amidst the trend of diversification in sports categories and customer segmentation, emerging areas like professional niche sports are experiencing rapid growth. The emphasis on personal experience and satisfaction also becomes a very important trend. So in response to these market shifts, we proactively adapt to consumer habits and preferences, nurture and uncover user value, broaden our variety of categories, and persistently seek out innovative business models to fuel future growth. Regarding the omni-channel, our omnipresent strategy, we are simultaneously tweaking our brick-and-mortar locations while broadening our digital footprint, executing a one-two punch strategy.
Simultaneously, serving as the pivotal backbone of retail, we persistently refine our comprehensive product management strategies. This includes a broadening inventory turnover and implementing a precise pricing tactics tailored to various contexts, thereby bolstering the efficiency of our entire retail lineup. At the operational level, we maintain three types of connections: membership, content, and product, which together provide robust support for the seamless conversion process. For our brick-and-mortar stores, we optimize the layout with a focus on efficiency. Confronted with a double-digit decrease in the same-store customer traffic, we've implemented targeted adjustments using a one product, one strategy approach, tailored to the distinct attributes of each brand. Regarding the opening and renovation of stores, we adhere to more stringent screening criteria and meticulously regulate the size of both new and refurbished stores.
We've also been accelerating the process to shut down the underperforming stores in line with market dynamics. As a result, by August 31, 2024, the number of our directly operated stores has stood at 5,813, marking a net decrease of 396. The total sales area experiencing a year-on-year reduction of 1.9%. Despite the reduction in total number of stores, the sales per store continues to expand. However, the overall growth rate is tapering off consistently, consistent with our strategy for balanced regional distribution and tailored approach for each product in our physical stores. Regarding online presence, we continue to transcend the barriers of the different sectors, focusing on user preferences, and harmonize the distribution of traffic across all platforms.
In the digital realm, we focus on enriching and expanding scenarios, forging direct connections and interactions with consumers via a variety of emerging channels, and simultaneously seeking out new avenues for growth. We continue to broaden our e-commerce presence on platforms including JD.com, Tmall, Pinduoduo, and Vipshop. By constructing a live streaming matrix and incorporating content specialization, we are advancing content-based e-commerce on platforms like Douyin, the Chinese TikTok, and also Xiaohongshu, the Little Red Book. During the first half of the year, we maintained over 300 store accounts on the Douyin and WeChat video accounts. Our live sales surged by roughly 20%, and securing us the top spot in Douyin's sports and outdoor category.
In the realm of the private domain operations, we consistently enhance user engagement by online communities, offer user services through one-on-one interactions on the WeChat for enterprises, and finalize transactions using Mini Program , thereby creating an interconnected user system. Currently, our Mini Program stores have surpassed 2,500, demonstrating significant year-on-year growth. The number of enterprise WeChat groups has exceeded 90,000. Our private domain Mini Program has secured the top spot in the Tencent official ranking of popular WeChat Mini Programs in a sports and outdoor category. In the first half, our direct online sales sustained robust growth, which in turn increased the segment's contribution to over 30% of the total direct sales. As we broaden our online presence, we are also consistently capitalizing the traffic benefits of these online environments to bolster our brick-and-mortar stores.
By drawing customers into our stores, we capture the demand of highly interested customers in localized urban commercial districts. These approaches primarily encompass the local living sections of major online platforms, and also collaborations with the various business districts with the CBD areas, and also localize the online community management centered around the physical stores. The successful implementation of these measures has possibly mitigated a decline in foot traffic. That's all for me. Now I will hand over the floor to Miss Zhang Huijing, to talk about the operations and achievement.
Thank you. After years of consistent growth, Topsports' user base has reached a milestone of eighty-one million. In the current market landscape, how to overcome the traffic bottlenecks and escalating customer acquisition costs, forging deeper consumer connections, and executing more targeted communication strategies, have emerged as a critical challenge in user operations. The fluctuating demand and the changing roles of channels in the global consumption landscape have made it more challenging for businesses to grasp consumer mindsets and boost their loyalty. Thus, in our present user operations, our aim extends beyond merely boosting the count of registered users. It is crucial to focus on the entire consumer life cycle value, offering a broader range of benefits, unlocking the latent potential of each user, and leveraging digital tools to enhance and streamline the entire operational workflow. This approach fosters a progressively enriching and beneficial ecological connection with our users.
Regarding customer acquisition, the pressures of the retail landscape and the challenge of diminishing foot traffic, have prompted us to broaden our avenues for comprehensive customer acquisition. Concentrated e-commerce and private domains have emerged as a new powerhouse in attracting users. At the same time, we boost, task efficiency and amplify user value by executing personalized marketing strategies, and this is achieved, through precise user segmentation and behavior analysis, paired with, highly engaging interactive scenarios. We've also synchronized, user information integration across multiple platforms, ensuring that users experience consistent rights and value on Topsports' comprehensive platform.
Through the exclusive group for high-value users, and also by offering exclusive upgrade gifts for members, and providing benefits in sports scenarios, we enhance the user experience on all fronts, foster a sense of community, and in doing so, strengthen user loyalty and boost the conversion rates, ultimately unlocking deeper value. We have constructed a comprehensive closed-loop user operation system that encompass products, content, and coupons, integrating all facets seamlessly. Our approach consistently enhances and sharpens user value, both in store and beyond. Guided by a global perspective, we strategically target and convert users by tailoring our methods to the various phases of the user life cycle. Given the decline in offline traffic, we have promptly expanded our online platform to attract the new customers from offline channels.
We've also incorporated customer acquisition tools like a Mini Program page, and also group buying, and partnered with the third-party platforms, including Douyin and Meituan Dianping, to draw customers into the store. These strategies offer fresh avenues for acquiring customers. Additionally, we foster interactive opportunities through the organization of diverse member activities, enhancing user engagement and conversion rates by enriching the content and dynamic of these activities, as well as amplifying member rewards, in addition to the annual regular member activities, and also to next summer's Olympic season in Paris, we've rolled out an array of gold-themed marketing initiatives, including the Gold Equipment Ranking, Gold Training Camp, and collection of promotional cards. Additionally, we're also offering 9.9 Membership Month and at the year-end shopping festival, and also events in sought-after tourist cities.
We offer high-value users exclusive offline events, cross-industry collaborations, and the private community activities as a token of appreciation for their ongoing support. Throughout this period, we've developed an innovative sports community IP named Ignite Sports Life, encompassing over 10 different sports, such as running, basketball, yoga, street dance, football, and more, successfully fostering an excess of 100 sports interest communities. The popular IP TOP Let's Run, also initiated by Topsports, has hosted close to 50 professional running competitions and themed marathons across the country. In addition, we are also partnering with the brands to host the sports carnivals and in-store events during the Stars Tour in China, offering a richer emotional connection with the communities. From the results, we have achieved a stable performance in user repurchase rate and effectively maintained the high-value users.
Members contribute 93.7% of retail sales, maintaining a high and stable level of sales contribution. Members who make repeat purchases account for approximately 60%-70% of total member spending, a figure that has remained essentially stable from the previous year. We've also garnered positive feedback for fostering loyalty among our high-value members. Although these members represent just a single digits % of our total consumer base, they contribute to nearly 40% of the total sales from customer members. Their average transaction value consistently exceeds that of the broader membership. Okay, now I will hand over the floor back to Mr. Ding, to share the insights and future strategies regarding our long-term planning. Thank you. We've consistently employed a proactive approach to adapt to changes in external environments, while reinforcing our core retail competencies.
We continue to pursue innovation and long-term growth. Topsports has established a comprehensive sports retail ecosystem. Our business has grown beyond its original, and also we've been enriching the brand matrix, including over ten premier domestic and international brands, hitting campuses, a wide array of categories and the formats, such as the general sports, specialized sports and recreational sports, and IP culture. We remain deeply committed to collaborating with our partners, expanding the limits of our expertise, and dedicating ourselves to delivering consumers, top-notch products, expert services, and a consistently delightful experience across all touch points throughout the entire life cycle and journey. Our varied matrix of brands, formats, and models undoubtedly necessitates more intricate and accurate retail operations, capable of adapting to the distinct features of different brands.
But for the retail, we've also accomplished precise alignment and backing in the four key areas: counter configuration, product oversight, target demographics, and promotional strategies, emphasizing our distinctiveness. So we have also exhibited profound and centralized cooperation in three domains: worldwide operation, digital enablement, and organizational administration. This matrix balances relatively independent and highly collaborative skills, is as crucial as our brand metrics, and established us as the go-to operational partner for a multitude of collaborators in a very Chinese market landscape. On the new pathways, we're relentlessly pursuing the wider market scope, a more varied partnership frameworks, and a greater array of business avenues. Following the partnership with Fanatics, a premier authorized sports merchandise digital platform.
And also in Greater China region, we've also launched the Mitchell & Ness online operation, an iconic American sports brand, across both online and offline channels in the Greater China, along with the management of matrix style social media presence. And in the future, we're going to continue consolidating cooperation and delivering to consumers the pinnacle of a sports culture and also premium quality products. In May, we entered into a strategic partnership with norda as the premium Canadian off-road running gear brand, becoming their exclusive operating partner in China. norda's Tmall flagship store, along with social media accounts on platforms like Xiaohongshu, have officially launched. Offline products are already available at outdoor collection retailers and norda's offline pop-up stores and standalone stores, and they are currently in the planning phase.
We believe that this would further unlock and also unlock new development potential for Topsports. So moving forward, we will persist in our sharp market surveillance, expand our outlook, deepen our thinking, and also concentrate on our central strategy, leveraging our foundational strength in retail operations, giving full play to our flexibility, and also the distinctive value of our platform. At present, the state of the sports consumption market remains ambiguous, confronted with the swift evolution of new product categories, brands, and consumer landscapes. We opt to proactively adjust to these shifts. We remain steadfast to our core mission amidst the market fluctuations, and courageously engaging and generating enduring value for customers, shareholders, and partners.
In the second half, we're going to focus on the following areas: concentrate on the broader retail landscape, pioneering formats and services, while strategizing for sustained expansion, and persistently concentrate on enhancing, efficiency and also strengthening the resilience of the retail platform's foundation. Okay, so that's all for my presentation. Now we'll start the Q&A session. Thank all management for sharing.
Now we will start the Q&A session. Please press star one to raise your question. Please press star and one, and after introducing yourself, you may raise your question. Thank you.
Hello, the first question is from Shaobo from CITIC.
Hello, management. Am I audible? Hello, I am from CITIC, analyst Shaobo . Thank you for the opportunity. The company is a leading retailer in China, so against the fluctuations, the company has been maintaining a very transparent attitude. I think, so I think that's really good. I have several questions regarding the consumer market. Firstly, it's about the U.S. brands, the mainstream brands. You know, some of them they have changed the CEO, the leadership, and also they talk about something about the inventory. As the Chinese partner to this brand, what is the Topsports plan to better manage the inventory? And also, there has been a change in the CEO position of this sport brand. With the new CEO, the Chinese CEO has been promoted to the person in charge for the global outdoor products.
It seems that the outdoor products category will be promoted. So in the past ten days, I believe that you have reached out to this new CEO. So what's your opinion regarding the prospect for restoration for this brand? Or what kind of improvement would you expect them to make in order to work well with the company? That's my first question. And the second question about the industry inventory. So I wanna thank the company in, you know, in September. You know, for many companies, they've been trapped in a blind optimism, but in September, the company has informed us about the dire situations facing the industry, so we are very grateful to that. And also, we really appreciate this opportunity.
So the statements made by the company in September, these are very transparent, and they're very true. So with this opportunity, you know, on November eleventh, shopping festivity is about to begin. So what will be the tactics and discount rates during this shopping festivity? And the third question, just like what Mr. Yu said, in September, the company has made some measures, so it's been a month. What will be the response from the market? I mean, are the sentiments of the consumers changing for the good? Okay, that's all for my three questions.
Okay. Thank you, Shaobo, for the question. Let me respond to your questions. So answering your first question regarding the inventory.
For us, if a brand have inventory issues, then we would work together with the brands for strategies to jointly face and address these issues, and the same could be also said with the mainstream brand in U.S. Now, regarding the channel planning and also the channel development, we've been under planning, and our measure can also. As to the specific timelines, they are in the development process, and these strategies will be devised very soon, and they will be executed by both sides. That's my first answer. Now, secondly, you mentioned the change in our leadership in Greater China, so I will talk about that.
Firstly, worldwide, there is a new CEO, and this new CEO is actually a senior member worked in the company for thirty-two years, and he used to be in charge of global sales as a vice president, and also used to be the person in charge for the sales and marketing department, and that means as a senior member of the company in terms of product innovations, he's highly aware of the product innovation, and he might have a different perceptions of innovation compared with maybe the previous leadership, so that's point number one, and secondly, he used to be in charge of the global wholesale business.
So we tend to think that he has a unique perspectives in the customer relations, but also the balance and the coordination between wholesale and retail. I believe he's more experienced in these regards. And I think these are conducive. These are positive things for the global business. Now, back to China. The former general manager has been promoted to the CEO, and also as the chairman for the board of directors in the Greater China region. And also, he also became the global CEO for ACG, the outdoor brand. And this has illustrated two points. Firstly, the kind of importance of the Chinese market has been illustrated. And this has further empowered the person in charge in the Greater China to deal with the Chinese market situation.
And second point, I believe, and also I understand the current trends of outdoor sports in the Chinese market. So the Greater China CEO would also serve as the CEO for the outdoor brand, and this has showcased that the company has become aware of this potential, the great potential of the Chinese market. So the company is sparing no efforts to gain more share in the Chinese market. So I think that's also a positive signal. As to the timeline and how long will it take, I think they need to respond to two questions or two issues. Firstly, some of the global issues like product innovation, and for example, the overall balance, the channel development. So I think this is a global issue.
And secondly, there should be a specific measure targeting at the Chinese market, and all of them need time. Nike, as the one of the global leaders of sports, it will come up with a pace that are aligned with its market position. Okay? So that's my response to your first question. And secondly, talking about the November the eleventh shopping festivity, this year, the 11.11 has been made in advance, like some, for some it's ten days, and for some it's like one week. And people are facing some common challenges offline, and attach great importance to the 11.11 this year. And also, different market players, they have some inventory pressures. Some have disclosed this information, and some have withholden it, has withheld this information.
But overall, the industry's inventory is quite high. So that's why the 11.11 has begun earlier than usual. We also attach great importance to 11.11 . Now, the company is mobilizing our online and offline resources for 11.11 . So that's our opinion regarding 11.11 . Now, certainly, regarding the government's policies, indeed, in some of the major cities, the government has been distributing consumption coupons. We're also very glad to see that the government has done something to revitalize the stock market. So we believe that there is some positive impact on consumer sentiment. The distribution of the consumption coupons also provided a substantial benefits to the consumers. So all of them are positive, but they are not quantifiable.
But in terms of consumer sentiment and also from these substantial value, I think all of these measures are positive. Okay. That's all. Thank you, Shao.
Thank you.
Thank you for your question, and thank management for responding. Again, if you need to raise a question, please press star one and join the queue. Thank you. Next, from Morgan Stanley, Dustin, please.
Thank you. Among the major brand that we are working with in the first half, have you registered any differences in trends in terms of operating quality, and also in terms of inventory discount rates or product categories, and also in terms of the foot traffic of physical stores and the different ASPs?
You know, for some brands, during the pandemic, maybe they have a low base number, but for some, sport brands, there you have seen a restoration of, the foot traffic. So that's my first question.
Well, still not that positive on the sales for H2 of this year.
But compared from national holiday to November, for the management team, do you believe they are going to be more optimistic about the sales in September and making sure there will be no further decline on that? I have another question for the online channel.
So you can say that now, if your online sales be around the 30%, so your online sales growth would be around the 10%. I think it's still better than what we expected from the offline channel. And we will also talk about the communication with the brand partners. We're using equity-based sales to digest the inventory. Would you might be more elaborative on that? What would be the specific strategies you're going to have, and how you're going to lead the team to continue to grow? What about the profitability for your online business? It seems that, if you do the benchmarking by yourself, it was growing. So looking about the cost, how likely it's going to grow in the near future? That's all for me. Thank you.
Hello, Dustin, I'm Rebecca. Thank you very much. Let me just, walk you through the observations for the full year and the full year guidelines. In the third question, we have already mentioned whether there's any market, sentiment to recovery, and that can help to drive the sales recently. So actually, let me be more elaborative on the questions you may have. From the trend perspective, in September and October, from the channel perspective, you'll see there are some challenges, restorations of the needs and the pressures.
I clearly noticed there might be some when we end into the September and October. I know there are some listed companies who already issued their quarterly performance report and shared their observations with all of you. We share the similar feelings. Starting from October, sales continued to be improved compared with the September and November, but there might be some headwinds. You know that National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2024 are separated with a time interval. As far as I see that, in October, the sales is better than what we have in September. First of all, it's because National Day holiday and Mid-Autumn Festival have an interval, where at the same time, we can also clearly see for all the major e-commerce platforms, 11.11 sales being advanced, at least for one week or 10 days.
That indeed also can help to boost the sales in October. But even if in that way, in November, and if we look deep, we can still say from the financial losses perspective, in H1 of this year, we still see some abnormalities we identified. For example, the discount rate continued to going up. That going to negatively impact the returns in H1 of this year. In September and October, discount rate is more severe than what we used to face. I think a key reason is because there are some factors in H1 of this year. With more sales coming from the online channel, the discount rate would be getting deteriorated, that also going to impact the GP margin negatively. That was what we observed recently.
So based upon the judgment we have for H2 of this year or even for the full year, what our observation or forecast might be, I think it is still in line with what we communicated with you in September. We have clearly stated we needed to have a very cautious plan for the future, especially from the profit perspective. We never excluded the possibility the profit decline by even higher than that of H1 of this year. We didn't give you the quantified number yet then.
But from the trend perspective, I see the trend actually echoes with what we stated in H1 of this year, where for the company, we seldom provide a quantified guidelines to the market, where at the same time, we also clearly notice there are some external factors or other factors that really makes our investors hard to analyze the returns and the financial losses. So that's the reason we will try our best to provide you some quantified data that can actually help you to better understand what the market may look like for this year. We foresee the revenue for the full year would increase by a high single digit number. Net profit were down by 35%-45% for the full year. That is the data here today. We made a very cautious outlook for the future.
You can also see that, according to the analytics for the profit and the revenue, actually the trend is still in line with what we saw in H1 of this year. You see, in the market, the inventory is not looking right. There might be some sales events there, and we are also working very hard and making sure we'll be able to work for those sales business. With more business coming from the online channel, that will also surely have some pressures on the GP margin. That is our outlook for the full year. Coming next, I may ask Mr. Zhang Qiang to respond to your question, the first question, that is regarding the observations of the brand.
Thank you very much. Thanks for asking. Let me just walk you through some of my observations regarding the sales in October.
I was responding to Mr. Shaobo's question. Besides the two external factors I mentioned that led to the positive sales result, I still believe market sentiment be the key. First part, the government issue, the consumption coupon, and now the stock market also be more active. To a great extent, it can also help to further recover the consumption passion or sentiment. So those are the two factors I saw. Just now, Rebecca has already provided you our H2 guidelines. This might be a very conservative number we have. As far as I believe, in the market, there are still going to be more other factors. Those factors not only going to impact what is going to happen in October, but also going to have some positive impact in H2 of this year. This is also something I'd like to remind all investors to be aware of.
In the market, there are some positive signals starting to show up. So let me just go back to the first question proposed by Dustin. You see that for H1, the discount rate, consumption trend, some observation Rebecca has already shared with you. But generally speaking, I think consumption sentiment is going down, and consumption trend continue to trending down. We know that our stores indeed encounter many challenges due to the ever-decreasing foot traffic. This is the first issue we are facing now. The second issue, as I have already shared with many of you on September, many of our key brands product. And they're also related to some inventory issues. So that's the reason in H1 of this year, the sales is not as good as what we saw. Inventory indeed is also higher than what we expected due to the average sluggish sales.
So that's the reason we have to speed up on the discount side. This is one of our major brands working ways. Well, for another major brand, after the adjustment for the past few years, its market inventory issue has already been resolved. Its product power continued to be restored. So we can see that the indicators and the operationals continue to be recovered and restored. This is indeed what we saw in H1 of this year. Well, for H2, let me also give you some other support and discussion. Let's talk about the e-commerce platform. On one side, we continue to extend the channel, where on the other side, we continue to connect the online and offline inventories. What we're trying to do is to have the omni-channel inventory connection.
In other words, on the public traffic platform, the inventory supplies being increased by times. That would help to boost the online sales. Another point is regarding the content e-commerce, for example, live streaming and the rest. In this perspective, we are indeed leveraging our great expertise in live streaming. We do have the live streaming matrix. At Douyin, we are already number one market share leader in the sports live streaming. The reason is because we're leveraging a live streaming matrix to do so. We have a store, a live streaming account, and also the regional live streaming account and headquarter live streaming account to cover the market in a very comprehensive way to harvest more sales opportunities. Regarding the content e-commerce platform, our market share could continue to be improved.
On the other side, there's the Mini Program , that is what we call the private traffic. We have the membership continue to grow, and the ever-expanding WeChat groups, and more people to get into the WeChat groups. Along with the content we tailor-made and produce, as well as the ever-increasing Mini Program store number, we will be able to continue to boost the returns. So these are the three online strategies, can help us to continue to expand our market share and the sales. That's all, Dustin. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Regarding the online business profitability, would you mind to elaborate on that?
Dustin, please. Well, you know that, Dustin, in my financial presentation, I have already mentioned, in H1 of this year, online performance continued to contribute for revenue and profit.
But at the same time, we see that for online channel, the operating profit rate continued to be improved. Well, you see that operating profit has been improving dramatically, but I think generally speaking, depreciation and the GP margin continue to be prominent. What we saw is the sales for the online business. But we keep an eye on the local sales. We still need to go back to the fundamentals, including online and offline. Once we got into September and October, we clearly noticed the offline business still going to be stressed. So for our full year outlook, we still consider multiple factors and believe that the offline operating leverage is going to impact the full year performance. So all those variables demonstrating that the full year performance must still align with what was happening in H1 of this year. Thank you.
Thank you for your response.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, coming next, let's welcome Sun Peiqi from Haitong Securities, please.
Management team, good morning. My name is Sun Peiqi from Haitong Securities. I have a question to all of you. You have already mentioned you have the new members for management team and continue to support the operation with the distributors. And for this year, you are also continue. There's a few brands who are digesting their classic product line. So for the pressure, is it coming from the consumption environment? Is it because some brands continue to adjust their brand mix? How you're going to do it according to the brand operation force?
Sorry, Sun, would you like to repeat the question? Sorry, I don't have a very good signal.
So from the inventories perspective, would you mind to be more elaborative on what are those one-time inventory digestions, and how much are coming from the overall consumption environment?
Let me put it in this way. Thank you very much. You were making the point very specific, but let me just be more elaborative on that. We do believe that, for the key brands, for the major brands, their sales been continue to go down, especially the classic one. And I think a few steps been taken. First of all, we made a very good design and plan, where at the same time, according to the existing inventories, we're going to leverage the channel with the specific seasonalities and the discounts, and then we make a plan to make it happen.
Just like Nike has already mentioned in one of your updated financials, we are going to have some future-oriented outlook or deployment, continue to have measures to foresee what is going to happen and to formulate countermeasures. Where for the existing landscape, we also have the channel arrangement on discount and subsidies. They are all in the formulating stage. There's another thing or something that all of us are facing now. That is indeed the offline channel challenge. We have ever decreased offline foot traffic, started to generate issues for all the brands. This is indeed a common issue for all the brands. So for those issues, I always believe we have the same way of resolving them.
Okay, thank you very much. Thank you very much.
Thanks for your question. Coming next, let's welcome Samuel from UBS to raise a question. Thank you. Thanks for the management team.
I'm Samuel from UBS. I have one question to the management team. It seems that the consumers attach great importance to cost performance. So I would like to ask you, for the product perspective, there any way for us to respond to the ever-changing consumption preference made by the consumers? Do you have any product or metrics changes on that? And my second question, also a follow-up question. During COVID, there used to be some challenges for your offline foot traffic. By then, because you are working with brands, all the brands provided support and help. So even during COVID-19, the operating profit may have less challenge compared with what we see today. I'd like to hear more from you because I see there are some key brands you are working with. They do have a very good performance.
Just as I have already mentioned, inventory issues being resolved, brand power continue to be improved. So what about the support and help from the brands? In H1 of this year, did you get any major support from the brands? And so the GP margin is not looking right. Whether there are going to be more brand support, especially on the inventories or discount? Thank you.
Thank you very much. Let me respond to your first question. First of all, no matter for the cost performance, products, or some consumption preference started to show up, but actually, it was always there in the market. In the sportswear industry, I believe that we do have the so-called consumption stratification. There are two hot trends in the market. The first trend is people go for niche market or professional product.
It actually be one trend, where on the other side, there are also going to consumers who is more sensitive to price or to discount. So in sportswear industry, both trends are parallel. So I always believe our product, all the brands we are operating now indeed have a very wide coverage. It can help to cover the functional product, along with some very cost-effective products that could provide sufficient supply to the consumers. That can help us to further extend the customer coverage. We also noticed there are some brands who are famous for cost performance, but their consumer base being quite constrained. In the premier CBD or the commercial district, those brands don't have any very nice and cost performance product in those premium market. So indeed, the market has saw the stratification. Thank you.
Thank you very much. And Rebecca, let me just, respond to your question regarding the subsidies. I do believe that brand support are there all the time, but for sure, the ways of the brand support, somewhat differs. They may have different types of subsidies based upon the market landscape. It is not only talking about the overall market, but also on the operational side, there might be very differentiated subsidies. Let me give you an example. There's a major subsidy, for example, the rebates for order placement and also the subsidies for discounts. To be more specific, there are even some subsidy regarding the interior decoration. Such supportive, combo would, show the brand's commitment of working with us to form a synergy to support each other. So generally speaking, I think for brands, indeed, they provide continuous support.
But for brands, the subsidies or support are be faced by different ways. Whereas the business continue, those measures going to be done phase by phase. It's not going to be integrated released in a very limited and short span of the time. Maybe those measures are going to be deployed one by another as time goes on, and that is regarding the subsidy deployment. Where just now, as you were asking the question, you also compound the GP margin. During COVID-19, you probably know the microenvironment is very much different from who we are here today. During COVID-19, majority of the offline stores being forbade from commence the business. There are some shutdown situation. But right after the COVID-19, now what we face are some unstable foot traffic.
So I think you don't leverage the GP margin of what we have today to benchmark with what used to be. Besides the subsidy, there also might be the discount. As we have more sales from the online channel, they're also going to be more impacted then. So in history, the GP margin in history cannot be well matched with the GP margin we have today. But regarding the subsidies, one thing I can say that indeed, there are subsidies, and it's also going to continue to grow in the near future, along with more business being conducted. Thank you very much, and you. Hope that I answered your question.
Great. Thank you.
Thank you. Thanks for your question.
Ladies and gentlemen, now we're going to have the final questions. Let's welcome Lyu Pei from Shenwan Hongyuan Securities to raise the next question, please. Thank you.
Thanks for giving me the chance to raise the final question. My name is Lyu Pei from Shenwan Hongyuan. I have two questions. The first question, in H1 of this year, I see the company did a very good job for the cost control, especially for government subsidies and the tax rate. There are some nice optimizations being done. How should I look into the expenses rate in H2 of this year? Because you mentioned your full year profit decline is even going to be severe than what we saw in H1. Rebecca also mentioned a more discounted rate recently compared with H1. What about the expenses rate? Is there any elaboration you can make? And my second question, is it possible for the management team to walk us through another point?
The inventory, even if it's been distressful, but in order to have a good inventory sales ratio, what is the inventory sales ratio as you are facing such huge inventory stress? Is there any new adjustment that's been made for order placement and order shipment? Thank you.
Thank you. Thanks for Lyu Pei. I'm Rebecca. Let me respond to your question. The first question, that is regarding expense rate. In H1 of this year, our expense rate has been well controlled with very refined control measures in place. Starting from last night to now, as I was talking to many investors, I'd like to thanks for your support in recognizing our hard efforts in well-controlled expense rate. But there might be some data you can refer to from H1 of this year. What do I mean that?
The business mix for online to offline type changing that will generate impact on GP margin expense rate, so in other words, expense rate would be blessed due to the ever-changing online to offline business mix. Where for the online channel, whether the online business going to help to further optimize the expense rate, in theory, if you have a more business online, according to the existing market landscape, there will be blessing for expense rate. But for sure, for net profit perspective, I think expense rate would just be one point. You should also benchmarking and keeping an eye on the GP margin. You should also keep an eye on the cost and the major expenses trend for the full year.
For the details, we're going to roll out the details and the more specifics as we continue to update performance. At least in 2020, for this fiscal year, the ever-changing online to offline business mix still going to continue. But for online to offline preference, it truly depends on the customer needs. We always emphasize we do omni-channel preference. We're not going to intentionally increase the business online or offline, but just to follow the customer preference for online and offline business. So for H2 of this year, we're still going to follow the consumer for their preference. But overallistically, I think what I've provided to you would be a very good reference. Okay, let me ask Zhang Q iang to respond to the second question you have. Okay.
Regarding inventory pressure, I think, for the market or even brands, we are working together to continue to resolve the inventory issues in the market. Because you know that in our industry, we do have the futures model that may lead to a much advanced order placement time, because you need to have a very good assumption of the market itself. One of our major brands has already deployed its, flexible supply chain in the order placement process. Around 70% of the orders are actually the future product, but 30% would be placed right before the product launch. What I'm going to inform you is that, supply chain continue to be optimized, and continue to reduce the risks for ever-increasing inventory.
Just like my colleague has already mentioned, no matter for order placement or order shipment, what we have now are more mutual discussion and the common decisions being made. In that way, we will be able to make sure we order the right product and shelf the right product. With such concerted efforts here now, our inventory is being kept at a very healthy level, and new product continue to grow. Especially contribution from the new product continue to grow in the total inventory. But generally speaking, for the overall inventory level, Topsports will still be able to force- trying to foresee the sales trend in the near future. We made some forward-looking inventory management and disposal based upon discount. That's all.
Okay. Thank you. Thanks for Mr. Zhang. Thanks for Rebecca. No more question from me. Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, due to time reason, we need to end up our call today. Thank you very much. Thanks for all the investors of supporting Topsports all the time. Starting from yesterday, I've received many questions and also many-