Jake's View | Dan Ryan’s Pacific Place closure is a casualty in Hong Kong’s stubborn pursuit of mainland tourists
Sales from local consumers are stable while sales from mainland’s nouveaux riches is down. It’s time they give us back our shops
Swire set to feel the chill as retail demand weakens
Business headline, March 11
No, this is not another screech at Swire Properties for having kicked out Dan Ryan’s at Pacific Place. Former InvestHK head Mike Rowse whinges on about it so much because it was his favourite eating shop. He put InvestHK into the office floors above just so that he could take the lift straight down to lunch.
READ MORE: Dan Ryan’s forced closure at Pacific Place takes cultural heritage off the city’s menu
Nor is this an echo of all the complaints I have heard from brokers over the last two years about how Swire Props also kicked out Domani’s. If they think they can do a better job than restaurateur J.R. Robertson at running restaurants, let them try. I doubt they can.
My point is rather that the real news in our report on Swire Props’ earnings came in a short paragraph further along – “Meanwhile Cityplaza in Taikoo Shing, also controlled by Swire, which caters to local consumers, saw stable sales.”
It’s not only Cityplaza. As the first chart shows, the underlying point is confirmed in the quarterly gross domestic product figures. Consumer spending by non-residents, predominantly mainland tourists, is plunging while sales to local consumers remain remarkably steady.