Luxury brands use pop-up stores to skirt Hong Kong’s sky-high retail rents amid consumer spending smashed by protests

The protest movement that has gripped Hong Kong since last summer has devastated the retail sector, forcing many shops to close as consumer sentiment and visitor numbers have dropped through the floor.

But some luxury brands – and the shopping malls that house them – have been fighting back using their latest weapon: the pop-up store.

These temporary retail spaces, which are often themed or heavily branded to tie in with a fad or an event, have been an increasingly common sight in Hong Kong’s most popular shopping districts.

They are typically short-term leases, in which the tenant pays a fraction of the standard rent for the area. This gives vendors a chance to cash in at lucrative times such as Christmas, or test the water in a new market, without having to commit to the expense of opening a permanent shop during times of uncertainty.

For mall operators, pop-ups can serve the useful purpose of occupying otherwise vacant units.