Mainland Chinese retailers take advantage of falling rents to expand Hong Kong presence
Mainland Chinese retailers are stepping up their expansion in Hong Kong, taking advantage of falling rents to target value-seeking consumers, with analysts suggesting the city may serve as a launch pad for broader international ambitions.
Brands from the mainland accounted for 35 per cent of the total number of firms entering Hong Kong so far this year, up from 29 per cent last year, according to Lawrence Wan, head of advisory and transaction services for retail at CBRE Hong Kong.
'For mainland brands, Hong Kong is a more easily accessible market in terms of language and familiarity,' Wan said.
Analysts agreed that these brands see the city as a testing ground and a launch pad – part of a broader strategy to seek growth in overseas markets like Southeast Asia – amid weakening consumption at home.
The mainland discount grocery chain HotMaxx debuted in the city in September last year. Photo: Connor Mycroft
'Mainland retailers are not looking to make a lot of money in Hong Kong; it's more about having a presence in the city,' said Richard Lin, chief consumer analyst at SPDB International, a Hong Kong-based investment bank. 'It's all about sending a signal to the market, saying, 'we're expanding'.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Standard
3 hours ago
- The Standard
Hong Kong banks take Fed's lead, maintain prime rates
The HKMA said the Fed's decision to keep rates unchanged was in line with market expectations. SING TAO
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
How to answer Xia's call for Hong Kong? Tap global ties and lure talent, experts say
Hong Kong should maintain its international connectivity and attract talent to speed up its economic transformation, analysts and figures from the commerce sector have said, as they hailed the enactment of the national security law for improving the business environment. Some political analysts also called on government officials to take bolder steps and adopt new thinking, taking advantage of the social stability and order brought by the security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020. Their suggestions came after the director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Xia Baolong, said the implementation of the law was a 'watershed' for the financial hub that brought order after chaos. But Xia, who made the remarks at a forum on Saturday marking the anniversary of the implementation of the national security law, also warned against complacency, calling for unity to support the government and urging the administration to come up with innovative governance concepts to enhance effectiveness. Political scientist Hung Wing-lok of the School of Governance and Policy Science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said: 'Hong Kong should seize the opportunity to attract more foreign talent to speed up its economic transformation. 'As tensions between China and the United States remain high, Hong Kong should continue to keep its international connectivity to maintain its status as a global financial hub.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong unions call for labour import scheme review amid rising job losses
Hong Kong catering and construction unions have called for a review of the labour import scheme amid high jobless rates in these sectors, with some local workers complaining about being replaced or forced to work fewer days after cheaper staff from outside the city were recruited. Chau Sze-kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees General Union, said on Saturday that the unemployment rate of the construction sector reached a high level of 6.7 per cent, attributing this to the reduced number of local private projects. He said although the policy of importing workers might not directly affect the unemployment rate, the scheme still led to fewer job opportunities for local staff. Chau added he received complaints from some workers about being sacked by their employers or having their working days slashed because of the recruitment of imported staff. He called on the government to be more targeted in importing labour for specific occupations in short supply. '[Jobless rates] have kept rising. Do we still need to import workers? I think it should be more targeted. The workers should only be imported where there is such a need,' he told a radio programme.
