The reopening of the New World Centre shopping mall is just the beginning of a tough assignment to draw shoppers' attention back to the south and east sides of Tsim Sha Tsui.
When the 609,025 square feet retail arcade closed for a HK$300 million facelift more than a year ago, west and central parts of Tsim Sha Tsui already were taking the leading role in the district known as Hong Kong's shopping paradise.
The situation was in sharp contrast to 20 years ago, when the mall attracted shoppers from throughout the city, partly because the New World Centre, with its two hotels, serviced apartments, offices and shopping mall, was then one of the largest commercial complexes in the world.
The centre gained some notoriety from its development timing. The project was announced in the early 1970s when a world recession prevailed. For that reason it stood out as a beacon of confidence in the future of Hong Kong.
Today, the busiest location in Tsim Sha Tsui is around Peking Road and Nathan Road and the popular shopping mall at Harbour City in Canton Road. These are all some distance from the New World Centre. As a result, it is in a relatively weak position geographically in terms of luring shoppers back from the west.
'It is not an easy job running a shopping mall,' admitted Stephen Yuan, the centre's general manager.