Hong Kong’s empty retail space falls to 3-year low, though sector recovery is hobbled as more tourists leave than enter

Retailers have been opening new shops and expanding, bringing the city’s empty commercial space down to 9 per cent in the second quarter

‘Travel outflow of locals is greater than the inflow of tourists, which could diminish local consumption power,’ property agent said

Retailers have been opening new shops and expanding in Hong Kong, bringing the city’s empty commercial space to a three-year low of 9 per cent in the second quarter, according to the latest report by an international property agency.

However, the recovery of the sector after three disastrous years of sales diminished by the Covid-19 pandemic faces a challenge: while the number of visitors – particularly mainland Chinese – to Hong Kong has been increasing, more Hongkongers have been travelling outside the city, shifting their purchasing power elsewhere, the property agency said.

“We have seen that following the border reopening, the travel outflow of locals is greater than the inflow of tourists to Hong Kong, which could diminish some local consumption power,” an agent said.

“As a result, the retail market during the long holidays such as Labour Day and the Buddha’s Birthday holiday periods was not as active as the market has hoped-for.”

A V-shaped recovery or a sharp upswing in the retail property market is unlikely, the report said.

The retail segment was one of the hardest hit in Hong Kong after the unprecedented social unrest of 2019 was immediately followed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The anti-government protests four years ago, which at times turned violent, had put mainland Chinese visitors off coming to Hong Kong. When the pandemic came along, forcing the closure of borders, tourists all but vanished from the city.

During boom times, mainland visitors were a major driver of tourism in Hong Kong.

Many of them came for the shopping, often returning home laden with luxury goods.

In 2018, before the unrest took hold, Chinese tourists in the city grew 14.8 per cent to 51 million, driving total visitor arrivals to a record 65.1 million, according to government data. Retail sales that year rose 8.8 per cent to HK$485.2 billion (US$61.85 billion).

In the first half of this year, retail sales rose 20.7 per cent, but they remain 15 per cent lower than the equivalent period of 2019, before the protests began, according to another property agency in a separate report. The improvement was largely thanks to the 12.9 million visitors that came to the city in that period, a massive increase from 76,000 a year earlier. Almost 80 per cent of the visitors were mainland Chinese.

Still, the number of tourists was a long way shy of the 34.8 million who came in the first half of 2019.

Almost 29 million Hong Kong residents, meanwhile, headed abroad for holidays in the period.

“As leisure travel shows no sign of waning, the widening inbound-outbound gap may impede the retail market recovery in the remainder of the year,” another agency said in a separate report, published on August 29.

Despite the somewhat clouded outlook for the retail sector, some notable transactions were recorded in the first seven months of 2023.

French luxury fashion house Chanel leased 18,000 square feet of space at Jardine’s Bazaar in Causeway Bay. In Central, The Macallan, a Scottish whisky brand, opened its first global flagship store on the second and third floors of the Hing Wai Building, occupying 8,519 square feet and paying a reported monthly rent of about HK$600,000.

The agency said a pharmacy had recently taken an 818 square-foot ground floor unit at 45 Haiphong Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. It leased the space for HK$300,000 per month, an increase of nearly 70 per cent in rent compared to the previous contract.

(South China Morning Post)

For more information of Office for Lease at Hing Wai Building please visit: Office for Lease at Hing Wai Building

For more information of Grade A Office for Lease in Central please visit: Grade A Office for Lease in Central

英皇珠寶50萬租海防道舖 高疫市8成

高峰期租金曾見230萬 尖沙咀吉舖漸減

近期珠寶店加快於尖沙咀核心一綫段擴充，信置 (00083) 旗下海防道地下舖位，面積2,000平方呎，以近50萬元租出，較3年前疫情租金升8成。新租客為英皇鐘錶珠寶 (00887)，料作珠寶銷售。

市場消息指出，尖沙咀海防道51及52號地下A、B、C1、C2及D號舖，面積約2,060平方呎，以每月約50萬元租出，呎租約242元。該舖位處海防道及樂道交界，舖位門面闊，加上附近人流旺，為當地段優質舖位。該舖由信置持有，樓上為集團旗下服務式住宅 The Camphora。

消息指，新租客為英皇鐘錶珠寶，而是次租用舖位，料主力作珠寶銷售。事實上，早在去年通關前，集團亦租用旺角彌敦道好望角大廈地下B舖，如今通關半年多，旅客重臨，集團即重啟擴充計劃。

翻查資料，該舖十多年來數度更換租客，2010年前專營手袋買賣的米蘭站曾以100萬元租用該舖，其後零售高峰期，太子珠寶鐘錶以高達230萬元搶租舖位，呎租逾千元。

通關後 尖沙咀租務加快

數年前，零售開始回落，莎莎化粧品以每月約80萬元承租舖位，其後遇上疫情，租客遷出，舖位亦交吉一段時間。2020年尾，米蘭站趁舖租大跌，以每月28.3萬租用舖位3年。按目前最新舖租計算，較舊租升近8成，惟與高峰期相比，仍下跌約8成。

通關後尖沙咀商舖租務加快，特別近一個多月，尖沙咀兩大核心地段廣東道及海防道連錄租務，當中涉及金行、鐘錶珠寶重新擴充。如廣東道新港中心地下至2樓，以每月約200萬元租出，面積合共約10,140平方呎，呎租約200元，新租客為內地金行「老舖黃金」，該品牌主力打造高級黃金及珠寶，於尖沙咀海港城設分店，如今趁租金回調，於新港中心大手租多層舖作旗艦店之用。

另外，大鴻輝旗下海防道46號舖位，面積約1,000平方呎，以約40萬元租出，新租客為內地鐘錶店。此外，尖沙咀彌敦道美麗都大廈地下G12號連1、2樓11號舖，面積約1,650平方呎，以每月約30萬元租出，新租客為福泰珠寶。

事實上，經過多宗租務落實後，廣東道、海防道及彌敦道3大核心地段，吉舖明顯減少。

(經濟日報)

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中環商廈全層意向價4480萬

有本港代理行表示，中環砵典乍街10號25樓全層，樓面面積約1828方呎，意向價約4480萬元，呎價約2.4萬元，物業以連租約形式出售，目前月租約7.5萬元，租客為投資公司，租期至明年5月屆滿。

該行指出，砵典乍街10號主要租戶為教育及醫療等專業行業，以租用全層單位為主，出租率長期逾九成；買家則大多為用家及作長線收租的投資者。

(信報)

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