Once a mecca for luxury brand shopping, Hong Kong’s mall owners forced to refresh their tenant mix as spending habits shift
Gone are the days when Chinese would queue up to get inside Prada, Gucci and Tiffany, and leave laden with luxury handbags and watches
To gauge how much the Hong Kong shopping experience is changing, take a walk through Pacific Place mall.
Burberry Group has shrunk its store and the space now also houses a Pure yoga studio and juice bar. Coach has been replaced by a tea company. Some of Louis Vuitton’s space has given way to a southern California-style bar and restaurant.
Gone are the days when Chinese would queue up to get inside Prada, Gucci and Tiffany, and leave laden with luxury handbags and watches.
The wealthiest now travel further afield, and even those who visit Hong Kong are cutting back. Average spending per overnight visitor, of whom three quarters come from China, dropped 8.8 per cent in the island city last year. Luxury goods have been the hardest hit, with August sales less than a third of their April peak in 2013 before China cracked down on conspicuous consumption.
Buying habits of Chinese shoppers have also evolved, as they have become more comfortable buying luxury brands at home, or online, and have become more price sensitive when shopping abroad.
