Bonjour says au revoir, the second major retailer to leave world’s costliest high street in Causeway Bay amid protests

Cosmetics chain Bonjour Holdings is exiting Causeway Bay’s Russell Street, following in the footsteps of Italian fashion house Prada

Chow Tai Fook, which is taking over the lease of 3,068 sq ft shop, is paying 52 per cent less than the peak rent seen in 2013

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View of shops on Russell Street in Causeway Bay. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 6:17pm, 30 Oct 2019Updated: 7:56am, 31 Oct 2019

Hong Kong’s Russell Street, the world’s most expensive retail strip, is slipping fast from its perch, with rents falling by more than 50 per cent from their peak in 2013.

In the latest sign that the city’s retailers are struggling to cope with the consequences of the more than five months long anti-government protests, cosmetics chain Bonjour Holdings has closed its outlet in the popular tourist district of Causeway Bay. In August, landlord Early Light International (Holdings) said that Italian fashion house Prada was closing its 15,000 square feet store in June next year.

“Their lease has expired. We have found a new tenant to immediately take it up,” said Donald Cheung, executive director at Emperor International Holdings, owner of the shop. “It will be next month. [The rent] drops a bit, at about 15 per cent.”

Bonjour signed the lease for the 3,068 sq ft shop in November 2015 for HK$1.6 million (US$204,098) a month – 42 per cent lower than the previous occupier, Cartier, which paid HK$2.76 million a month.

Italian fashion house Prada is closing its flagship store in Causeway Bay’s Russell Street next June. Photo: Nora Tam

Now Chow Tai Fook, the world’s largest listed jeweller, will rent the space for HK$1.3 million, 19 per cent lower than Bonjour. The rent for this particular shop has fallen by more than 52 per cent since 2013.

Bonjour did not respond to a request for comment.