Global brands moving into Hong Kong's rural shopping malls in search of customers
Weakening sales and high rents in the core districts are driving retailers and restaurant operators to shopping centres in the New Territories
Weakening retail sales and high rents at second-tier streets in core shopping districts have led major brands to look for shops at regional malls instead.
"Large retailers and restaurant operators are increasingly interested in leasing shops in V City [a one-year-old shopping mall in Tuen Mun]," said Evelyn Suen, assistant general manager of leasing at Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency, a subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai Properties.
Maureen Fung Sau-yim, general manager of SHKP's leasing department, said international fashion brand H&M leased a 20,000 sqft duplex store at the Tai Po Mega Mall recently. It will be the largest H&M shop in the northeast New Territories when it opens at the end of the year.
"Large lifestyle brands such as H&M and Uniqlo are interested in expanding in regional malls," Fung said. "The population in the districts is enough to support regional malls with a gross floor area of between 300,000 and 600,000 sqft. Regional shopping malls are comparable in turnover and shopper traffic to the shops in Tsim Sha Tsui."
Fung said the retailers were interested in malls along the railway in the New Territories, such as Yuen Long Plaza.
Suen said food and beverage operators were the most active in seeking shops at regional malls.
"Since the retail rent in the core shopping areas is high, the food and beverage operators have to bear higher investment risk," she said. "But the operating cost in regional shopping malls would be lower and the shopper traffic is high, which has attracted many operators to open restaurants there."