The violent shocks caused by the amendments have spurred the retail sector in the core area and have recently spread to the upstairs shop where the business has been relatively stable
Market participants pointed out that the upstairs shops in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai are mainly bars and restaurants. Due to the weak market sentiment, the business volume of the upstairs shop has been reduced by about 50%. At present, many merchants are asking the owners to reduce the rent by 30%.
Small and medium-sized Japanese food ingredients
The demonstrations have evolved into “constantization”, which has directly caused the commercial business to fall sharply and has recently spread further to the upstairs shop. The upstairs shop is different from the floor shop. Most of the merchants are small and medium-sized enterprises. They are mostly operated by high-priced sales. However, the economic strength is far less than that of the large chain stores occupying the ground floor. Due to the political turmoil, the business volume has been greatly “plugged in”. The business environment is grim. Among them, small and medium-sized restaurants have the greatest impact. Among them, small and medium-sized Japanese restaurants, which have been welcomed by mainland tourists and Hong Kong people, have the opportunity to become the next wave of business.
Huang Weiji, director of the shop of the Central Plains (Industrial and Commercial Services), said that the demonstrations triggered a series of violent incidents. The large department stores in the Causeway Bay area also needed to be closed down early on the grounds of safety. The upstairs shops in the district could not be alone! Mr Wong continued to point out that the political turmoil continued to ferment. The number of visitors to Hong Kong and the market consumption were significantly “plugged in”. The upstairs shop was also under pressure. Looking around the Causeway Bay area, the upper floor shop was dominated by restaurants. Some restaurants have recently Forced its employees to put “unpaid leave”, which is most affected by the high-end restaurants. At the same time, the district also recorded the bar in the market to let the sale, but unfortunately no one cares. Huang Weiji said that people in the catering industry expect that if the market conditions continue to be sluggish, about 2,000 restaurants will be closed before the Lunar calendar, and the situation is quite pessimistic!
Requires 30% reduction in rent
A senior agent in the district pointed out that due to the cold winds of the business, the upstairs Japanese restaurant was also one of the “hardest hit areas”. This type of small business operation relied on local customers and mainland tourists. The business was directly hit by this incident.
Direct attack on Mainland visitors
Mr. Zhuang Langwen, Senior Regional Business Director of the Central Plains (Industry and Commerce), said that the demonstrations have had an immediate impact on the market. The public and tourists are now very popular. The operation of the bar and restaurant shops in Causeway Bay has been reduced by about five. In the case of the bar, the influence of the bar is more severe than that of the restaurant. Because the bar is open for the evening, it has encountered large-scale demonstrations on the weekend night. It is said with a smile: “If you go to drink at night, it will be too dangerous.”
In addition, some estate agents in the district said that there were already commercial tenants in the Causeway Bay area requiring owners to reduce their rent by 30%. Some tenants and tenants also negotiated with the owners to deduct the one-month deposit for early termination of the lease.