As I see it | Retail review: Topshop/Topman at Queensway Plaza

14 months after it first arrived in Hong Kong, Topshop opened a second location at Queensway Plaza, which includes the city’s first and only Topman store. To understand how the new stores ended up in Admiralty, a bit of background is in order.

Pacific Place, the crown jewel in Swire’s property portfolio, went through a major facelift three years ago. Dickson Poon replaced Seibu with the glitzier Harvey Nichols and Burberry put up a massive two-storey Hong Kong flagship. Amidst the retail reshuffle, long-time anchor tenant Lane Crawford drew the short straw and ended up with an eviction notice. Perhaps Swire no longer believed in having two department stores on the same premises, or perhaps lease negotiation with its major competitor Wheelock (owner of Lane Crawford) got a little personal. Whatever the reason was, Lane Crawford needed to find a new home.

The fallout prompted the department store to approach Queensway Plaza’s landlord, the government’s Property Agency, to reboot the 64,000 sq ft retail space above the MTR station. It was then Lane Crawford proposed a new retail idea called Lab Concept (not to be confused with the men’s skincare brand Lab Series), positioned to be a younger, more casual version of itself. The new mall opened in spring 2012, filling the sprawling single-storey shopping mall with beauty and cosmetics consignment counters and cult brands like American Apparel, Cheap Monday and Free People. But Lab Concept has been a complete dud. It generated very little buzz and never warmed up to local shoppers. Worse still, it was starting to cheapen the venerable Lane Crawford brand.

The location is partly to blame. Whereas most people consider Queensway Plaza a glorified footbridge that connects Pacific Place to the rest of Admiralty, some find the windowless, low-ceiling space dated and depressing. It might even be cursed. From the ill-fated Matsuzakaya department store in the 1980s to the non-descript local arcade run by the government in the two decades since, nothing seems to thrive there. Separated only by a single street, Pacific Place and Queensway Plaza are worlds apart in terms of revenue and cachet. It must be a fengshui thing.

The failed experiment at Queensway Plaza raised a red flag for senior management. Plans to put another Lab Concept at Asia Standard Tower on Queen’s Road Central were scrapped. Instead, Lane Crawford handed the space over to its new retail partner Topshop, Britain’s hugely successful fast fashion chain that had been looking for an entry point in Hong Kong. Topshop finally opened in June 2013 with pomp and circumstance. But the Queen’s Road Central location is small by UK standard. It only carries the women’s line and a men’s store would have to wait.

That brings us to Topshop/Topman at Queensway Plaza. Opened this past Wednesday, the twin stores take up a chunk of prime Lab Concept space. It was a strategic decision on Lane Crawford’s part to deepen an important cross-border partnership as well as to improve its own bottom line. A smart move notwithstanding, Lane Crawford didn’t go nearly far enough. Instead of giving the stores the proper space they deserve, the mall continues to waste precious real estate on redundant beauty counters (most of them already have more established outposts at the nearby Pacific Place) as well as silly ideas like vending machines for hair products and laundry detergent (which no one ever uses). Sometimes letting go is easier said than done.