Home improvement and furniture sectors are set to compete fiercely to capture an expected boom in residential development, leading to demand for home decoration.
Good news for the sector came recently as banks began a price war on mortgages which could further boost new home decoration.
An influx of new competitors has caused some existing operators to watch market developments closely, and others to boldly expand their operations in the belief the pie will get bigger.
European home furniture giant Ikea, which has four stores in Hong Kong, is taking a wait-and-see attitude to rival do-it-yourself and home improvement retailer B&Q, which plans to open its first store in Kowloon Bay next year.
ParknShop, a retail arm of Hutchison Whampoa, is also among the newcomers. It aims to incorporate Living Ideas, a corner for household products and furniture, into five to 10 of its superstores over the next two years.
Not content to merely observe market development, Pricerite, an old hand in the home improvement sector, has boldly laid out aggressive expansion plans despite the keen competition.
