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

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

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

SCMP Reporter

With sales flagging, CRC decides to rent out 43-year-old store

In a sign of the mixed fortunes for Hong Kong's  retail sector, the sun set on another famous department store yesterday.

China Resources Company's Hennessy Road department store closed its doors at midnight  after 43 years because of falling business.

Renting rather than retailing is the business to be in today, according to Wang Chun, deputy general manager of China Resources Enterprise  (property division).

Mr Wang said the store would be refurbished and rented out.

The company declined to say how many people would lose their jobs but it would try to transfer some workers to the 27 CRC shops specialising in Chinese and western medicines.

Refurbishment of the department store, which covers 42,000 sq ft over four floors, will start later this month  and is expected to be finished in October.

'The company will gain a higher return by renting it out,' said Mr Wang, adding that the department store business had been going down in recent years.

'The upper floor will be a restaurant while a cosmetics outlet will take over the ground floor space.'

The company is still negotiating with potential occupiers of the other two floors. It is the fifth CRC store to close and leaves the company with only one outlet, in Whampoa Garden.

The Tsuen Wan and Central stores  were the first to close, followed by Causeway Bay in 2001 and Mongkok in April last year.

The store's parting gift to customers was a seven-month campaign of  slashed prices, with some items knocked down by as much as 70 per cent.

Elisabeth Keaffreson,  a regular customer,  was sad to see the shop close.

'I shop here often because it has almost everything. I used to buy hand-embroidery pieces in the store,' said Ms Keaffreson who has lived in Hong Kong for 43 years.

Albert Yu Sung-nin, 43, who has bought a number of Chinese paintings in the store over the years, will miss the staff who had become his friends.

'I will miss the store. I wish it was reopening somewhere else because there are not many shops in Hong Kong that have such a large variety and low prices.'



HK retail landmark shuts up shop