ALL THE BALLYHOO about Hong Kong being a shopping paradise strikes bar owner Paul Tam as ironic. He's an inveterate shopper, particularly on his frequent travels abroad, but complains of a monotonous local retail scene.
It's getting tedious, he says - the same shops crammed into the main commercial centres, whether they be in Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Tong or Sha Tin. 'Visiting one shopping mall is much like another, they're so similar; you get outlets of the same chains selling the same items,' Tam says.
Marketing manager Chan Chi-yan shares his frustration. From mid-range clothing labels to global couture brands, the established companies' ubiquitous presence means people often end up dressing alike, he says.
'Even with smaller independent boutiques, many source their goods from the same suppliers in China and South Korea. And some simply sell knock-offs of prestige brands.' After a while, they start looking the same, says Chan, who prefers quality and individuality over brand names.
While Hong Kong's rents may be comparable to world cities such as Tokyo and New York, it doesn't have the range that areas such as King's Road and Soho in London and Greenwich Village in New York have. 'They're some of my favourite places to visit, with lots of small individual shops run by young designers,' Tam says.
The emphasis on individuality in western cultures creates a demand that allows young designers to thrive in expensive cities such as New York, says Ada Lo Sau-yee, a lecturer in tourism management at the Polytechnic University.
