default-output-block.skip-main
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Hong Kong Retailers Forecast Sharp Sales Drop as Protests Rock City

Full-year retail sales forecast also dropped from single-digit growth to a double-digit fall, according to the Hong Kong Retail Management Association.
Protestors demonstrate against controversial extradition law in Hong Kong | Source: Shutterstock
By
  • Reuters

HONG KONG, China — Hong Kong retailers said on Tuesday they expect sales for July and August to drop by double-digits from a year earlier due to protests that have gripped the Chinese-ruled city for more than a month.

On top of that forecast, the Hong Kong Retail Management Association also sharply changed its full-year retail sales forecast to a double-digit fall instead of single-digit growth.

It urged the government to resolve the dispute over a proposed extradition bill peacefully.

Millions have taken to the streets over the past month in some of the largest and most violent protests in Hong Kong in decades over a bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.

The retail group's statement came after a relatively peaceful rally descended into chaos late on Sunday, when protesters in a shopping mall that houses some of the world's largest luxury brands threw umbrellas and plastic bottles at police who retaliated by firing pepper spray and swinging batons.

"The (retail) industry is worried that the incident will hit Hong Kong's international image as a safe city with good food and a shopping paradise," the association said in a statement.

Last month, PwC revised down its Hong Kong full-year retail sales forecast to a 5 percent drop, from a 3 percent fall for 2019, amid the Sino-US trade dispute, equity market turbulence and volatility of the Chinese yuan.

PwC also said the recent political and social unrest, coupled with a lack of new tourist attractions, might lower mainland tourists' appetite to visit Hong Kong in the short run.

The value of Hong Kong retail sales in May declined 1.3 percent from a year earlier.

By Donny Kwok and Anne Marie Roantree; editor: Richard Borsuk.

In This Article

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from News & Analysis
Fashion News, Analysis and Business Intelligence from the leading digital authority on the global fashion industry.




view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
BoF Professional Summit - New Frontiers: AI, Digital Culture and Virtual Worlds - March 22, 2024
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
BoF Professional Summit - New Frontiers: AI, Digital Culture and Virtual Worlds - March 22, 2024