Hong Kong Malls Reach for Mainland Shoppers

Elements, a high-end shopping malls, reportedly co-produced a fashion program with a TV station in Beijing, where a popular tv host discussed the latest trends and fashions aimed to attract mainland shoppers to shop at the mall for brand name clothing. Hong Kong’s retail market isn’t stopping at anything attract shoppers from the mainland to fly down and dig deep into their pockets at local malls this festive season, pulling stunts such as producing and airing fashion programs on Beijing’s TV channels to promoting their own brands on mainland radio stations.

APM, a mall managed by Sun Hung Kai real estate agency, adopted a similar approach where it organized a series of interviews of store managers on mainland radio stations to talk about the positive side of shopping at APM.

Harbour City, the biggest mall in Hong Kong, took advantage of its size to engage flagship stores and brands, making their debut in the city. Canis Lee, who is Harbour City’s assistant general manager said that “shopping malls are just like tourist spots. People want to pay a visit whether they intend to buy anything or not”.

To lure even more shoppers, malls are even providing transport facilities to and from the airport where Elements has arranged a few shuttle service from the mall to Shenzhen Baoan Airport for its customers. APM has adopted a similar regime where it has arranged airport shuttle service and free coupons for tour groups from the mainland let by Guangdong People’s Government during the festival.

Travelers from the mainland are essential in ensuring the survival of Hong Kong retail market at least for the next 10 years due to their strong consumption power according to APM’s Maureen Fung. During last year’s spring year, 16.6 million people from the mainland went to Hong Kong constituting 55% of total arrivals.