bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

The opening of Wanchai Computer Centre near the MTR station attracted hundreds of people on a Saturday afternoon before Lunar New Year. But the crowd, mainly youngsters, were more enthusiastic about the pop stars at the ribbon-cutting ceremony than the new computer mall, in which fewer than half of the shops were open.

 Chinese Estates, the company managing the Wan Chai centre as well as Windsor House in Causeway Bay, said the 30,000-square-metre mall had the capacity to hold 147 shops.

 About 118 shops had been rented and 80 to 90 shops had started operation, executive director Rosaline Wong said.

 However, Technology Post staff visiting the centre last Friday found only 36 shops listed on its directory.

 Also found in the centre were about 10 unnamed shops or stalls selling pirate CD-Rom software for $20 apiece.

 Asked about piracy, Ms Wong said management had supervisors to monitor operation of the shops.

 'But we can't send staff to shops every day and take any action by ourselves,' she said.

 Tenants were split evenly between software and hardware vendors, she said, adding that it was likely that software shops eventually would outnumber hardware retailers because computer users, after buying hardware, would continue to buy application software and CD-Rom titles for entertainment.

 The recent economic downturn has hit the retailing industry hard, including sales by shops in computer malls. Hopes of better sales due to the more convenient location prompted Alex Mak to move his shop, Ming Son Computer Accessories, from the nearby 298 Computer Zone to the new Wan Chai centre.

 Mr Mak said the company's sales had dropped 30 to 40 per cent since the crash of stock and property markets in October, although there was a slight rebound after Lunar New Year.

 Computer malls seem to be in danger because new PC buyers tend to be less technically smart, and hence prefer the safety of name brands bought at the larger chain computer stores outside of malls.

 Computer malls, which historically have been sources of low-cost assembled PCs and pirated software, had to find a new way to survive, said Michael Lam, country manager of Hewlett-Packard Hong Kong's computer channels organisation.

 Ms Wong from Chinese Estates disagreed, saying the economic slowdown had affected all business sectors and that she did not see any special impact on business in computer malls.

 'I don't think it's an inappropriate moment to open a computer mall,' said Ms Wong, who said she was satisfied with the occupancy rate and the operation of the mall.

 She said tenants may be slow to open because it took longer to fix up shops during the holiday season, and some wanted to adjust business and marketing strategies in response to the economic turmoil.

 Both Ms Wong and a tenant said they had not thought of postponing their openings. The tenant said everything at his shop had been scheduled in advance.

 To compete with nearby computer malls, Chinese Estates wants to create a professional image for the mall and to foster closer relationship with its stores.

 It has created a Web site and a mascot to promote the mall. The company thinks it is more effective to promote the entire mall rather than having each store running its own marketing campaign.

 It also plans to set up an educational centre with programmes co-organised by the shops to provide instruction for customers who have purchased a minimum amount of goods from the mall.



Pirates stow away for launch of Wanchai Computer Centre