From attracting tourist spending to live streaming world sports events like the recently concluded FIFA World Cup, Hong Kong developers have tried to claw their way through a challenging retail market and found a rare boost to shopping malls.
As crowds converged on neighbourhood malls to watch live broadcasts of World Cup matches, restaurants, sportswear retailers and consumer electronics stores were among the biggest beneficiaries.
Sino Group, which spent more than HK$8 million (US$1 million) broadcasting all 104 matches across its three flagship malls, said foot traffic and sales for the period rose 10 to 15 per cent from a year earlier.
Kai Tak Mall reported a 15 per cent increase in foot traffic over the previous month, while Sun Hung Kai Properties’ flagship APM mall recorded a more than 10 per cent lift in both visitors and sales.
However, rather than treating the World Cup as a stand-alone campaign, developers are extending the approach with permanent programming and infrastructure upgrades, according to analysts, who said the strategy reflected a broader shift in Hong Kong’s retail market.
“Before Covid, developers were more focused on tourist spending because mainland visitors [spent] more,” said property analyst Will Chu, investment director at Nexara Capital.
He noted that mall operators had to work much harder to help their tenants attract local customers, as many Hong Kong residents travelled overseas for holidays or spent their weekends in Shenzhen.
The recent World Cup broadcasting strategy showed that the biggest winners were neighbourhood malls rather than luxury destinations, Chu added.
Large residential catchments, spacious atriums and a strong food-and-drink mix allowed visitors to spend several hours eating, watching matches and shopping: an advantage that high-end or tourist-oriented malls with smaller event spaces were less able to replicate, he explained.
For example, nearly 4,000 football fans packed Sino Group’s Olympian City for the World Cup final early on Monday, filling the atrium and forcing the mall to open a second viewing area.
One sportswear tenant at Kai Tak Mall reported increased sales of more than 50 per cent at the start of the competition, with one restaurant selling more than 100 beers during the final viewing alone.
Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis, said the World Cup was an example of how shopping malls can tempt residents out with a specific atmosphere and more of these experiential events were likely to be seen across the retail landscape.
However, he noted that the World Cup alone was unlikely to reverse Hong Kong’s broader retail slowdown as the event showed how landlords were increasingly competing on experiences rather than shopping alone.
After the World Cup, landlords of shopping malls have attempted to step up investment in sports-led events and amenities to attract local shoppers.
Sino Group said it would continue broadcasting major sporting events, including the Asian Games in September and October, while expanding sports facilities after investing a seven-figure sum in six pickleball courts at Tuen Mun Town Plaza.
Henderson Land plans a second-half calendar of sports-themed events at MCP Central after the tournament drove strong double-digit growth in foot traffic and sales, while Kai Tak Sports Park is banking on football festivals and other international sporting events to sustain tenant business. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
