Hong Kong’s retail landlords bank on emerging concepts like art exhibitions, delivery-only kitchens to lease vacant shops

The landlord of a 14,000 sq ft commercial space in Central has been renting the shop on a short-term basis since British high street retailer Topshop moved out

Deliveroo plans to open more of its Deliveroo Editions delivery-only kitchens amid huge interest from its restaurant partners

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Deliveroo Editions operates six sites across the city, including one in Kowloon Bay. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:30am, 5 Oct 2021Updated: 7:01pm, 5 Oct 2021

Hong Kong’s retail landscape is undergoing a massive change, as art exhibitors and delivery-only kitchens help landlords fill up empty space in the city, which until recently had the world’s highest commercial real-estate rents.

“Landlords are more willing to accept new concepts as they need to shift their strategy to tap local demand,” said Helen Mak, senior director and head of retail services at Knight Frank.

While the retail sector is struggling to recover from its worst downturn on record, many international brands such as Topshop, Gap and Prada having either exited or scaled down their operations in the city as they were pummelled by the political unrest in 2019 and later by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shopping centre rents in the second quarter of this year had declined 10.2 per cent year on year and 45.2 per cent from a peak three years ago, according to Savills.

A Digital Art Fair is being held at 59 Queen’s Road, Central, the site of British high street retailer Topshop’s former flagship store. Photo: Jonathan Wong

In Central, the landlord of a 14,000 square feet store on the bustling Queen’s Road has been offering the space on short-term leases, after the British high street retailer Topshop closed its last and largest store in Hong Kong in October last year.

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