J.Crew to shut Hong Kong stores, joins big-brand exodus from Causeway Bay, world’s priciest shopping district
- US retailer to shut both shops in city
- Coronavirus has ‘turned business from bad to worse’ for luxury brands, restaurants, Savills says
J.Crew Group, the US retailer of menswear and womenswear, is closing its stores in Hong Kong, according to staff at both its locations in the city.
“The stores in Causeway Bay and near Lan Kwai Fong will be closed on February 23,” a sales staff member at its Times Square location said on the weekend. A sales person at the brand’s second store, which sells only menswear, on 9 On Lan Street, also confirmed the closure. J.Crew was unavailable for comment. It is expected to announce its third-quarter result this week, on Wednesday, February 12, in the United States.
A notice at its Times Square shop said: “This J. Crew store is closing, but there’s still time to shop with 50 per cent off your purchase.”
Wharf Real Estate Investment, which owns and operates Times Square, too was unavailable for comment on the closure and the brand’s monthly rental, but industry experts said the 1,500 sq ft shop would cost less than HK$1 million (US$128,774) a month.
“Retailers selling luxury goods, top fashion brands and restaurants had already seen their sales plunge significantly after the eight-month-long anti-government protests in the second half of last year. Now, the outbreak of the coronavirus has turned their business from bad to worse, with locals as well as tourists too scared to go out at all, ” said Peter Yuen, head of the investment department at Savills.