Advertisement
Advertisement

Rise in mainland shoppers spurs developer to renovate Prince's Building retail podium

The increasing number of mainland shoppers has encouraged Hongkong Land to invest HK$151 million to renovate the retail podium of Prince's Building in Central.

'About 25 per cent of the shoppers in our shopping malls came from the mainland,' said Raymond Chow Ming-joe, an executive director at Hongkong Land. 'We found that increasing [numbers of] mainland travellers with higher income choose to go shopping in Central in recent months, as the malls have a greater selection of brands.

'The retail traffic at our shopping malls may be less than the other malls, but the spending per head is higher than the others.'

He declined to disclose figures.

Renovation work had started and was scheduled to be completed early next year, Chow said.

Average rents for the company's retail space in Central rose by 3 per cent last year, its annual report says. Chow expects retail rents to have stronger growth this year as the demand for retail space is strong. The firm's retail portfolio is fully let.

International brands also appear optimistic about Hong Kong's retail outlook and have expanded in the city.

Alfred Dunhill previously leased a 3,800 square foot retail shop in Prince's Building. In March the firm expanded to an 8,000 sq ft shop on three floors in the building, its largest store in Asia.

Cartier has also taken a 10,000 sq ft retail space on three floors in the building. It will be the largest Cartier shop in Hong Kong after renovation is completed by the end of next year. Previously, the retailer occupied a 3,200 sq ft shop.

Jewellery shop Van Cleef & Arpels and footwear brand Berluti have also expanded their shops to 3,200 sq ft and 2,300 sq ft respectively, up from 1,700 sq ft and 700 sq ft.

In the office market, Chow said rents in Hongkong Land's Central portfolio began to pick up in the second quarter. According to global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle, office rents in Central grew by 7.5 per cent in the first quarter, the highest growth among the city's business areas.

'The demand for office has fully recovered,' Chow said. 'It seems like the global financial crisis never happened.'

He found demand was mainly driven by the resumption of expansion plans by financial institutions this year, while many professional services companies from the United States and Europe also came to Hong Kong to set up new offices.

Post