Hong Kong's elderly fabric shop owners face uncertain future as historic Western Market slated for renovation
Hong Kong fabric store owner Chan Sun began slashing prices after he received word last month that the historic Western Market building – home to his shop for three decades – would be under renovation and that he would soon need to move out.
'HK$500, 2 Yds,' the 83-year-old wrote on a signboard outside his shop, located on the first floor of the old red-brick colonial structure.
Chan has until the end of October to move out and make way for the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) revitalisation works, which will take at least two years.
The imminent eviction coincides with the declining demand for the fabric market's products, which has been on for decades. The city's textile and tailoring industries are now shadows of their former selves, their heydays long past.
'At our peak, we were responsible for a fifth of an English manufacturer's business,' Chan recalled their import volumes.
'Look over there,' he said, pointing at the rolls of wool and camel hair blends outside the shop, which stood behind the till. 'Those used to be HK$600 a yard. Now I have to sell two for HK$500.'
It will be hard to sell the fabrics he has left, particularly the high-end cashmere fabrics he sells for HK$6,200 a yard, the octogenarian said.
Eighteen fabric stores, including Chan's Lee Loy Piece Goods, moved to the Edwardian-style market building in Sheung Wan in 1991, after the Land Development Corporation – the URA's predecessor – redeveloped old buildings in the nearby Wing On Street, nicknamed 'Cloth Street.'
This time around, there is a lot of uncertainty. With less than half a year before the fabric shops must leave the Western Market, its mostly elderly tenants are unsure where they will go or whether they will reopen their businesses.
'They're saying the repairs will take two years, but I don't even know if I'll still be around by then,' Chan sighed, saying he had not made plans for when the deadline comes.
From errand boy to store owner
Chan began working at Lee Loy six decades ago, mopping the floor and running errands for HK$40 a month, back when the shop was still on Wing On Street, in Central.
He later inherited the four-storey store from his uncle and expanded its operations by selling fabric to textile factories. When the shop relocated to the first floor of the Western Market in Sheung Wan, he had to downsize his business as he was allocated a refurbished wet-market stall measuring barely 80 square feet.
Chan is still in business despite incurring losses for the better part of 33 years running the shop at the market. It is kept barely afloat by a small band of loyal customers who keep coming back to buy suit fabrics.
The fabric vendors have built close and friendly relationships over the years, said another elderly seller who only wanted to give his surname, Chow, due to privacy reasons.
That afternoon in April, he was manning a neighbouring store while the owner was out for lunch.
That sense of community also helped on the business front, he said.
'If we get split up, we won't be able to source our fabrics in bulk together anymore,' he said, pointing to the rolls of British, Italian, and German suit fabrics at his store, which Chan also stocks at Lee Loy.
Chow's shop, Three Geniuses Furnishing Fabrics, and many others in the market sell colourful cloths – jacquard fabrics and screen-printed patterns in reds, magentas, and other bright hues – which bear a striking contrast to the blacks and greys at Chan's stall.
One of their main clientele is local fashion students and designers. Film crews also come to the market for fabrics. However, with cheaper materials available online, far fewer of them come to local stores, Chow said.
Oldest surviving market building
First completed in 1906, the Western Market is Hong Kong's oldest surviving market building. It served as a wet market for more than 80 years before it underwent a major renovation and reopened in 1991.
The building, which was declared a monument in 1990, was refurbished in 2003 – more than two decades ago. Decades later, natural wear and tear have left the structure in need of a facelift.
'We do see the need for it. Look, the rain is seeping through the bricks, and water is leaking through the ceiling next door,' said Chow, 73, shortly after a rainy April morning.
The URA said it would contact the fabric market tenants in due course to explain the refurbishment works and provide assistance. But it did not say whether it would offer special compensation or relocation arrangements to the stallholders.
Its statement read: 'As for the fabric traders, when the Land Development Corporation (LDC) redeveloped Wing On Street in Sheung Wan years ago, it already offered compensation to the affected fabric traders in accordance with the policy at that time.'
Besides tackling the water seepage, the URA's revitalisation works will also address the historic building's ageing electrical and mechanical equipment, roof tiles and timber components, as well as its facade, doors and windows.
'To facilitate the commencement of the works and for safety reasons, all commercial tenants will have to move out,' the authority said in an emailed reply to HKFP's enquiry.
The fabric store is all Chan has left. 'I don't have other interests, I don't drink or gamble, and I don't have friends anymore,' he said.
'People my age – lots of them – are no longer around, so I don't know what I'll do without the shop. We're just here to ride out the rest of our lives.'
As the vendors brace for the inevitable evictions, tourists are unaware of the plan for the century-old red-brick building and its tenants. On the day of HKFP's visit, they took photos of the fabric stores, though few purchased anything and left empty-handed.
'Can't see a future'
Katy, a florist on the market's ground floor, has found a new address for her store a few streets away. She declined to disclose her full name due to privacy concerns.
'We're renting the new place for around the same price, but I'll miss the market,' she said. 'After all, it's a landmark, and we've been here for 30 years,' she said.
Under a different tenancy agreement with the building's landlord, the Telford Recreation Club, she is among the Western Market's tenants who will only have until the end of the month to move out.
Katy said she had emotional ties to the historic market building, as it was where her son grew up.
'We've experienced Hong Kong's rise and fall. Now there aren't as many tourists as there used to be. Back in the day, we could strike up a conversation with them, but there aren't many opportunities for that,' she said.
Katy's last two rental contracts at the market were only for two months each, instead of the customary two years.
The URA says it may make 'flexible arrangements' or provide tenants with intermediary services for relocating their businesses, or look into moving those businesses to other commercial premises managed by the authority.
'Hong Kong seems to have slowed down. When I can't see a future, I just don't have the motivation to do anything, not even install an Octopus card reader,' she said. 'I want to touch up the shop and make it more presentable, but I just don't have that drive.'
Chan lamented the current political environment, saying he was not bothered to reach out to lawmakers or district councillors for help.
'Times have changed,' he said. 'Look how peaceful it is now. There used to be protests against this kind of thing, but not anymore.'
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