Grim reality sets in for Hong Kong retailers

Although relying on the spending power of mainland tourists, Hong Kong has been experiencing a number of cross-border incidents, Emma Dai reports

It was 7:30 on a Sunday night - a time when visitors usually end a day of shopping by exiting the malls and entering restaurants. Yet Causeway Bay, the holy grail of shoppers in Hong Kong, was not as busy as usual - there were shorter queues for fitting rooms, less people under the mega-screens of Russell Street, and even the notorious sidewalk traffic wasn't as bad on the corner in front of Japanese department store SOGO. But while shopping was more pleasant, on the side streets, shops - large and small - have been quietly shutting down. Further testament to trouble in the retail district were the layers of for-lease ads pasted on the rolling doors.

According to the Census and Statistics Department, the value of total retail sales decreased 9.8 percent year-on-year in April to HK$38.8 billion ($5 billion), a much steeper drop than the predicted 4.4 percent decline. Retail sales volume also tumbled 9.5 percent in the same period last year.