‘Made in Hong Kong’ prestige provides springboard for retailers Watsons, Sa Sa to find success in Greater Bay Area

Well-known Hong Kong retailers are aggressively expanding in the bay area, where the prestige of their brands makes them a hit with mainland consumers

The city’s retail sector has been devastated by the coronavirus keeping deep-pocketed mainland tourists away

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Café de Coral plans to open hundreds of new outlets in the bay area. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 10:16am, 17 Dec 2020Updated: 8:39pm, 17 Dec 2020

Banking on the prestige of “Made in Hong Kong”, the city’s retailers see big opportunity in the potential of the Greater Bay Area and are aggressively expanding in one of China’s wealthiest regions.

Personal health care giant Watsons, cosmetics retailer Sa Sa and casual dining restaurant chain Cafe de Coral are just some of the Hong Kong brands that are reaping the rewards of their forays into the growing economic hub.

Their success in southern China is mainly predicated on the good quality that the Hong Kong brand is known for, and analysts say they must strive to keep this identity to enjoy the continued confidence of mainland Chinese consumers.

“We will devote more effort expanding in the [bay] area and plan to open 300 new stores there in the coming five years,” said Joyce Chiu, associate director for corporate communications at Cafe de Coral. In September the company saw a “V-shaped” rebound in mainland China with business returning to pre-coronavirus levels.

Watsons, which recently celebrated its 180th anniversary, has over 1,100 stores in the bay area, a quarter of its total portfolio in mainland China and Hong Kong. The average transaction value in its bay area shops is 5 to 10 per cent higher than in other parts of the mainland.

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