Hong Kong shops stock retro goods to feed nostalgia-hungry collectors

For collectors of Hong Kong nostalgia, Chu Wing Kee in Possession Street, Sheung Wan, is a treasure trove.

The wholesale shop stocks a multitude of goods, many of which hark back to a bygone era, even if they are sometimes modern imitations of the originals. Owner Perry Chu Yiu-cheong, who inherited the business that his street hawker father set up in 1959, often sources unusual products for customers when he does not have them in stock.

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Chu, 53, showed the Post around his store this week, where old-fashioned crockery, furniture and various homewares line the shelves and cover almost every inch of the floor.

He said he enjoyed collecting products which consumers might struggle to find elsewhere.

“We are always looking for rare things,” he said. “I like the old style. Everything in supermarkets and malls is so similar, but we have some handmade products, such as pottery, which is shipped here from the mainland. We can promise our customers that our products are of good quality and we can show them how to use them. We are not just looking to make money – we want to help people.”

Chu, whose 16-year-old son Peter could eventually take over the business, said his retro products had a wide appeal.