Retail in Asia

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HMV closes iconic Hong Kong flagship store in Central

Hong Kong’s largest music and DVD retailer HMV quietly closed its iconic flagship store in Central last month in a move to lower rental costs, as the city faces its steepest retail downturn since the Asian Financial Crisis.

The closure will be followed by the opening of a new shop this September, just one block away from the old outlet in Entertainment Building on Queen’s Road Central, which will cost the entertainment retailer roughly HK$250,000 less in rent each month.

A sign outside the recently-vacated Central store, which was HMV’s second-largest in the city, read:

“We are closing on 16 April … Exciting new HMV Central opening in September 2016.”

The new shop, located in the basement of Manning House, Central, will be only about 77 per cent of the size of the former, and will cost slightly more than HK$1 million a month in rent, according to Michael Chik, managing director of agency Sheraton Valuers.

He said the rent HMV paid for the two-storey store at Entertainment Building was close to HK$100 per square foot, or HK$1.25 million a month. HMV had leased the space on the third and fourth level since 2011.

(Source: SCMP)