Air pollution, poor weather and the SAR's increasingly down-market tourists are having a depressing effect on businesses in the Peak Tower, Hong Kong's highest and most idiosyncratic landmark.
'We're here to see the view,' said Johann Markus, visiting with his family.
'We can't really tell you what we think of the shops as we haven't even looked at them properly.' Unfortunately for the Markus family, Typhoon Dan blotted out the view from the 350 metre-high hill. And unfortunately for the shopkeepers in the wok-shaped Peak Tower, the increasingly frugal profile of visitors to Hong Kong is blotting red ink on their balance sheets.
Hong Kong & Shanghai Hotels, owner of the $500 million shopping and entertainment complex, cannot clear the air, but it does have a plan for weathering the new commercial realities of Hong Kong's tourism industry.
The group hopes to replace the many commercial tenants leaving this year as leases expire - the Fila sportswear store is already gone - with new businesses chosen to appeal to locals and the rising numbers of mainlanders who visit the site.
Martyn Sawyer, general manager of the group's properties and clubs, says that 60 per cent of the five million people who visit The Peak each year are Hong Kong residents. So he is seeking retailers who will appeal to 'a city that queues for Snoopy'.
Hello Kitty and other low-cost merchandise is expected to figure highly in this configuration. 'People who go to The Peak do not have that much to spend,' Mr Sawyer said.