Despite slipping retail figures in Hong Kong over the past two years, the city’s food and beverage spending continues to trend upwards, thanks in part to the city’s small flats encouraging a culture of eating out, research released by CBRE on Wednesday found.
And landlords could benefit from the growth, as food outlets could help surrounding retailers by bringing in foot traffic, according to the report, which was headed by Joe Lin, executive director of advisory and transaction services retail.
Hong Kong’s huge commercial developments were identified as opportunity areas, with the flood of people likely to create strong demand for casual and business dining in the areas, Lin said.
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“Substantial commercial development in several districts over the next few years will provide opportunities for F&B sector expansion,” Lin said.
He advised landlords to “capitalise on the growth of F&B retail and increase the appeal of their properties” to potential food and beverage operators as tenants.
Landlords could attract them by converting premises to Ginza-style retail buildings which mix retail and food and beverage outlets throughout the levels. Landlords should also think about features that might attract such tenants, like water and gas supply, elevators, and balconies or rooftops, Lin said.
In May, CBRE found food and beverage outlets accounted for 20 to 30 per cent of space in shopping malls, up from 10 per cent during the retail boom of 2012 and 2013.
Cathie Chung, JLL’s national director of research in Hong Kong, said she expected the proportion of food and beverage tenants to continue growing over the next 12 months – although she cautioned there was a limit (30%).
(Source: SCMP)