Resourceful retailer will soon be right at home
The shopping mall of Mongolian yurts on top of Central Pier 4 is testimony to Shanghai Tang's flair for reaping a public relations advantage from the adversity of finding itself without a flagship store in Central for about five months. Its Pedder Street store closed in October, the tents come down at the end of the year, while Shanghai Tang Loft - on the sixth floor of Pedder Building - closes on February 20.
Raphael le Masne de Chermont, Shanghai Tang's executive chairman, said in early October, somewhat ruefully: 'Losing the Pedder Street location was unexpected.'
That was the bad news. The good news was that a new site had been found and it was going to be called Shanghai Tang Mansion and will be twice as big as the Pedder Street store and occupy four floors. But he was a bit coy about the location, saying he wanted to generate a bit of mystery around the new site. The chairman said the new store would be within a 350-metre radius of the current shop, but to the east of Pedder Street. We feel we can say with some confidence that the new shop will occupy the premises recently vacated by Exclusivit?s at 1 Duddell Street, Central. This should enliven what is a fairly quiet enclave in Central when the store opens in March.
Who's paying the piper?
Speaking on RTHK's Backchat programme yesterday, Jim Middleton, chairman of anti-pollution group Clear The Air, mentioned that it would be interesting to know the funding for the various interests in Legco that succeeded in delaying then watering down the idling engine legislation.