Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo vendors bemoan crimped sales as Covid-19 rules limit crowds, take taste-testing off menu
- With visitor numbers capped at just half the old capacity, booths seeing far fewer visitors as popular Causeway Bay bazaar returns for first time since 2019
- Sales down 30 to 40 per cent compared with last expo, one vendor reveals, while guests say they miss having food stalls on site
The 55th edition of the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo, organised by the Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, returned to Victoria Park for the first time since 2019 on Saturday – but at 50 per cent its normal capacity.
“First-day sales dropped about 30 to 40 per cent when compared withthe last expo,” said Kevin Shea, managing director of Yummy House, one of hundreds of vendors at the Causeway Bay event, which runs through January 3.
The company, which sells seasoning sauce and canned food, was likely to see its worst sales in 10 years of attending the event due to the crowd limits, Shea said on Sunday.
“We’ll offer more gifts and discounts to customers. But it’s still difficult for us to attract them since taste testing is banned,” he said, referring to one of the new restrictions in place.
He added he hoped business would pick up over the Christmas holiday.
Eric Law, marketing supervisor of Sky Dragon Abalone, agreed shoppers were not as enthusiastic as in previous years.