A computer festival that drew 450,000 people to the streets of Sham Shui Po in a scramble for heavily discounted products closed yesterday with buyers having spent more than HK$230 million, the organisers said. Exhibitors said the sales figures were higher than expected, but predicted the outlook would remain grim at least until the Lunar New Year and that prices of electronic products would rebound by about 30 per cent after the festival. Organisers Sham Shui Po District Council and the Chamber of Hong Kong Computer Industry originally expected a total turnout of 400,000, with sales topping HK$180 million. Leung Ding-kau, chairman of the chamber, said the festival had given a boost to firms whose business had been stagnant. He said that during the four-day festival some of the retailers had made what they normally made in a month. He said the businesses could still make a profit despite the goods generally being sold at a 30 per cent discount because retailers could buy cheaper stock from suppliers as orders from North America and Europe dropped amid the economic slowdown. Exhibitor Wong Kwan-shing, marketing manager of a shop selling DVD recorders, said the company had made a profit of about 10 per cent. However, he now expected business to drop by about 30 to 40 per cent. Fellow exhibitor Cheng Hang-ha, director of a shop selling display monitors, said: 'We expect a [drop in business] after the festival, but it will be better than doing nothing.'
