Chanel splashes millions on a new retail store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong: as shopping tourists return, the luxury fashion brand moves into a spot formerly occupied by Victoria’s Secret and Forever 21

- The fashion maison just signed one of the biggest leases in Hong Kong since Covid-19, renting a two-floor shop in the city’s prime shopping district for US$383,000 a month
- While some luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior opt to move into mainland China, a drop in rent in the world’s most expensive property market presents the opportunity to grab large shop fronts
Chanel rented a two-floor shop in Hong Kong’s prime shopping area Causeway Bay, signing one of the biggest leases since the pandemic.
The luxury brand committed to a three-year lease for the ground-level retail space at Capitol Centre starting in mid-May, according to government records. The records didn’t show the amount of the rent, but Ming Pao reported that Chanel agreed to pay more than HK$3 million (US$383,000) a month.

The space, right in front of a subway station exit, has a large facade, making it one of the most iconic retail spots in what was once the world’s most expensive shopping street. Fashion retailer Forever 21 Inc. and Victoria’s Secret & Co. had rented the shop before it sat empty during the pandemic.

The city’s insurance sales to mainland visitors also jumped nearly 28 times in the first quarter, about 75 per cent of the level recorded in the same three months in 2019.
Chanel is likely to pay just a fraction of the rents borne by previous tenants as rental levels slumped during protests and the pandemic in the past few years. Causeway Bay’s rents in March were just 30 per cent of the peak’s a decade ago, according to Colliers International.

As to Chanel, the company is expanding, more than doubling its office space for its London headquarters, underpinned by confidence in the luxury industry’s prospects.