Department store chain Yata prospers by appealing to Hong Kong's tastes

Who needs mainland tourists? Not department store chain Yata, the Japan-themed retail unit of Sun Hung Kai Properties, says chief executive Daniel Chong Wai-chung.

Yata, which generates about 82 per cent of its sales from Hong Kong shoppers, said sales in the first week of October rose 24.9 per cent on a year ago, building on the 26.7 per cent annual growth chalked up in the first eight months of the year.

Opening a store in Kwun Tong, Chong said the performance showed the power of local consumers and that the industry does not have to pander to mainland tourists to drive sales.

"I have two identities," said Chong. "I'm a retailer. I love to do business but I'm also a Hongkonger, so there is a line. Hong Kong is a very small space and the public services including transportation, swimming pools are very limited. When we sense that capacity has been reached or saturated, we have to ask, 'should we stop for a while?' Do we think the contribution to the frequent travellers [is worth it]? We are not going to push them away but control the inflow of these tourists until the Hong Kong people don't feel occupied."

He said that even though he did not take public transport frequently, he could sense the overcapacity.

"I do not ride on the MTR frequently. I have a driver. I don't even drive. My driver takes me here and there but sometimes when I go to Central or when I go to Causeway Bay, I feel the heat, the busyness, the noise. I don't know when we crossed the line but I do feel today we've already crossed it."