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.
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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.
“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’.”
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