50pc more deals at this year's HK Shopping Festival
50pc more deals at this year's HK Shopping Festival
Annie Yau Tse says it is hard to say how much of a boost the campaign would provide to the retail sector. File photo: RTHK
The chairwoman of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association on Friday said with more shops joining this year's Hong Kong Shopping Festival, local deals could be more attractive than those outside the SAR.
The two-month festival that is held for the third straight year will kick off on July 1.
With more than 180 brands offering freebies and discounts, Annie Yau Tse told an RTHK radio programme that the event aims to encourage people to loosen their purse strings to counter a recent sales slump.
"The total amount of discounts this time is 50 percent more than last year. This year it is worth more than HK$19 billion in total," she said.
"We've got more discounts, and the number of participating shops and brands have gone up by 10 to 20 percent. I believe if the campaign isn't effective, shops won't be so keen to join."
Yau Tse noted that it is inevitable that Hongkongers will leave the region to spend the summer holiday elsewhere during the period, but hopes that the discounts on offer will be a better deal compared with shopping overseas.
But she added it is hard to say how much of a boost the event could provide to the ailing retail sector.
As part of the celebrations to mark the 28th anniversary of the SAR's anniversary, the catering sector will also roll out discounts of up to 29 percent.
Some discounts will only be available on July 1, while discounts at several restaurants will last for a week.
Winston Yeung, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades told the same show that various kinds of eateries have agreed to take part, such as fast-food shops, Chinese restaurants and cafes.
When asked whether the up to 29 percent discounts is enough to encourage people to spend locally, Yeung said it is not an easy comparison, as some food on the mainland costs only one-third of the offerings in Hong Kong.
Yeung added his hope is that the discounts can get residents to spend more than usual.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
9 hours ago
- RTHK
'Consider halting labour imports for certain sectors'
'Consider halting labour imports for certain sectors' Lam Chun-sing says the government could set a quota for the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme depending on unemployment figures. Photo: RTHK A trade unionist lawmaker on Saturday suggested that officials should consider pausing labour imports for certain industries, as more locals are losing their jobs after the shuttering of multiple companies. These closures involved bakery chain Taipan which ceased operations after more than four decades on Tuesday, as well as local congee chain Ocean Empire Food Shop after operating for 33 years. Lam Chun-sing, chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions told reporters after a Commercial Radio programme that the government could set a quota for the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme depending on unemployment figures, to give locals the priority. "We don't want to see a situation [where] our unemployment rate increases and also we continue to import more and more labour. So we hope that maybe the government can collect more information on different job categories," he said. "If [in] those job categories, the unemployment rate is very high and the number of job vacancies [is] reduced, then the government may set a limit or a ceiling or suspend the labour importation scheme in a specific job category." Lam also suggested the government to roll out various measures such as a tax allowance to encourage employers to recruit elderly workers as part of its bid to promote the silver economy.
RTHK
9 hours ago
- RTHK
Northern Metropolis tender details in progress: Linn
Northern Metropolis tender details in progress: Linn Development chief Bernadette Linn says the focus is on developing the Northern Metropolis. File photo: RTHK Authorities are hammering out details before putting one or two sizeable land parcels in the Northern Metropolis project up for tender in the second half of 2025, development chief Bernadette Linn said on Saturday. The minister said officials are prioritising development in the northern New Territories, while brushing aside calls to shelve the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands project. "The economy is growing steadily, and the government hopes that all sectors will focus on development in the Northern Metropolis. We have made it clear that we don't have a specific timetable for the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands plan, and we are slowing down," Linn told a Commercial Radio programme. "In terms of the word 'shelve', if it means we will never continue with it, I think the government should have the lead in land development and we should not casually say we will never do something in the future." The administration had earlier received submissions from both local and mainland firms expressing an interest in developing the three large-scale land parcels in the Northern Metropolis project. "We are now analysing and preparing detailed terms of the tender, with the goal of starting the bidding process for at least one or two land parcels in the latter half of the year," she said. On plans to develop three major ecotourism projects in outlying islands and coastal areas, Linn said the plan to transform the ex-Lamma Quarry site might be the first on the list. Authorities aim to complete the area's land use planning in the first half of next year, before starting the tendering process, she said. The other two plans include developing a new Eco-Recreation Corridor in South Lantau, and creating ecotourism nodes at Tsim Bei Tsui and Pak Nai.
RTHK
9 hours ago
- RTHK
Cut rents further to lift catering sector
Cut rents further to lift catering sector Simon Wong says visitors to Hong Kong are spending less. Photo: RTHK A catering sector representative on Saturday said rents will continue to be a challenge despite a recent reduction. Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades told a Commercial Radio programme that even though the SAR has been welcoming more tourists this year, business performance is worse than the pre-Covid period. This is because spending for each visitor has dropped by 20 percent. Noting that landlords have slashed rents by up to 15 percent on average in the past half-year – and even 30 percent in some districts – Wong expressed the hope that they would go down even further. "If there's so much empty space on the street, the landlords would feel that kind of pressure and they are willing to lower their rent at this moment. And I'm looking forward to more decrease in the rent because still the rents compared to other expenses are quite high," he told reporters. "Our operating expenses is comprised of rent, salaries and also food costs, and rental is one of the major expenses we encounter. So if the rent can go down by at least another 20 or 25 percent, it would help us a lot." Wong also noted that the phenomenon of Hongkongers heading north to spend is "irreversible", but he hopes that the government will expand multiple-entry visas to cover the entire Greater Bay Area, or even other mainland cities to help the catering sector. Meanwhile, Wong said he expects a campaign – which sees more than 3,800 restaurants offering discounts of up to 29 percent to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the SAR's establishment on July 1 –to boost business by up to 15 percent that day.
