Exclusive | Hong Kong luxury retailers seek more rent relief as protests cut sales in deserted malls
- Concessions from landlords thus far do not reflect the size of the problem caused by anti-government protests, Bluebell CEO says
- ‘No sign of social unrest easing’ as more retailers are shutting down, industry association says
The Bluebell group, Asia’s largest distributor of luxury brands, is asking Hong Kong landlords to share the pain by scrapping the base rent in shopping malls, saying a slump in tourist footfalls will push even more retailers out of business in the coming months.
The group may have to give up two of its 22 stores in 19 malls across the city because short-term rent reduction cannot cover operating costs in stores where sales have plunged as much as 60 per cent during six months of anti-government protests, president and chief executive Ashley Micklewright said.
“The concessions that they have been making so far do not reflect the size of the problem,” Micklewright said in an interview with the Post, referring to rent discounts during the August-October period. “It is not going far enough.”
Bluebell is a family-owned business with an annual turnover of US$2 billion. It has over 150 brand partners and employs about 3,500 people. Across Asia, it markets and generates sales for premium and lifestyle brands such as Bottega Veneta, Moschino, Louis Vuitton, and Victoria’s Secret.
Hong Kong’s economy is now littered with reports of shop vandalism and closures as luxury brands including Burberry have reported slower sales. Prada will not be renewing a lease next year in Russell Street in the city’s most expensive shopping belt.