Local Ho’s: An Introduction

SoHo. NoHo. BoHo, anyone?

Shoppers in the market for independent fashion know SoHo to be more than a trendy drinks-and-dinner destination. The last year has seen the addition of many small fashion boutiques in SoHo (south of Hollywood Road). The area has become so popular that stores are beginning to spill down Elgin Street to the north of Hollywood Road and into the slightly more feral area known as NoHo (sometimes known as BoHo for its somewhat bohemian vibe).

Business is booming, and development is well on its way. Unlike the standard course of development in SoHo (tearing down a venerable old dai pai dong to make way for a towering housing estate), the development of a boutique district in SoHo has been more diverse and innovative, and draws far less ire from the community. Most shops are independently run, eclectically stocked affairs, a few with the family pet yapping in the back room. Character is something they’re not lacking.

Hong Kong’s economic recovery is one of the biggest factors in this development. According to Starsky Chung of real estate giant Centaline, shop rents have risen over the past year in step with the improving economy. A 700 square foot shop space in the heart of SoHo cost on average $25,000 per month in March 2005 compared to $45,000 per month in 2006, and even the slightly less in-demand areas of NoHo, such as Aberdeen Street, have seen a similar increase in rent. Though it means smaller, less well-off businesses have had to move out, Chung notes that the number of spaces being leased out has actually increased. “Many people are willing to pay more to have a shop address here, especially nearer to the escalator,” he says.

Greg Derham, owner of event planning and costume design boutique House of Siren, has seen lots of neighbours come and go in his 12 years on Staunton Street. He observes that the recent hike in the area’s rents have inspired landlords to seek out that extra bit of profit. “You get more people guessing they can get a bit more cash by leasing out that hole-in-the-wall storage room they never use,” he explains cynically. And where does this increasing number of prospective boutique owners come from? “Maybe they think it’s trendy or novel to open up a store, but once they start, they realize it’s not that easy. That’s why there’s such a high turnover around here.”

“Trendy” is definitely the buzzword among the new boutiques. As consumer demand moves away from massive corporate fashion machines, the appeal of small boutiques rises. Rather than being a faceless number attached to a Lane Crawford VIP card, increasing numbers of savvy shoppers are opting for the personal attention a smaller store offers.

The area has come a long way since home and lifestyle brand G.O.D. pioneered the first boutique in the retail wasteland that once surrounded Hollywood Road. “SoHo’s becoming a very popular place to shop because, rather than providing a shopping mall environment, the vibe is more like that of a shopping street in London or New York,” says G.O.D. co-founder Douglas Young. “Though once a market neighbourhood, SoHo is now growing into a grotto of local art and fashion, rather like its namesake in New York City.”