Hong Kong Retailers Suffer Collateral Damage as Protests Rage
Mainland shoppers, traditionally the biggest spenders, are staying away and now have more options at home.
Workers clean up after protests at New Town Plaza in December.
Photographer: Winson Wong/South China Morning Post/Zuma Press
When tourists come to Hong Kong to shop, they head for a six-block stretch of Nathan Road in the Mong Kok neighborhood. There they can find more than 30 high-end jewelry stores, including 10 outposts of Chow Tai Fook, the world’s second-biggest jeweler after Tiffany & Co. That’s not counting almost a dozen standalone watch stores, which include Rolex, Tissot, and Longines. And global luxury retailers such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton operate boutiques farther up the merchant-lined thoroughfare.
Nathan Road is much quieter than usual these days. The anti-Beijing protests have scared off tourists from around the world—particularly Chinese mainlanders, who’re especially important to Hong Kong’s retailers. Compared with tourists from other places, Chinese spend more money on shopping; they’re also more likely to buy high-end goods. They make up almost 80% of total annual visitors to Hong Kong. In November, after the protests became more violent, the drop in visitors from the mainland was a record 58%, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. That month, retail sales fell by a quarter from the previous year, with jewelry and watch sales plunging 44%, according to the city’s statistics department.