Hongkongers are living in a city overwhelmed by social conflict and the grievances of its young, and need to get their mojo back, according to one of the city’s leading retailers.
One way to restore confidence would be for the government to join hands with big business to organise a big promotional shopping campaign, said Philip Ma King-huen, chairman of the 116-year-old Sincere Company, Hong Kong’s first Chinese-owned department store.
Hong Kong retail sales have been falling for almost a year, and the most recent numbers show they were down a steep 13.6 per cent in the first two months of 2016 alone, the biggest slump since 1999.
Sincere, which operates six stores in Hong Kong, lost HK$93 million for the six months to August 2015.
Among the six Sincere stores, Ma said its Mong Kok branch had been hit hard result of the aftermath of the riot there at the start of the Lunar New Year and by the Occupy movement in late 2014.
(Source: South China Morning Post)