Prada Hong Kong pushes for rent cuts

Prada Hong Kong landlords are under pressure to cut rents in the wake of the downturn in luxury spending.

According to a Reuters agency news report sourced from Milan, where Prada’s head office is based, the Hong Kong listed luxury retailer says it has no plans to shutter stores in Greater China – but it does want landlords to reduce rents to reflect falling sales.

All luxury retailers are feeling the pinch from falling spending by mainland Chinese tourists – and some, including Coach, have already closed stores in the territory.

“Like our competitors we’ve started re-negotiating rents for shops in weak spots such as Hong Kong and Macau but landlords are not being very receptive, they’re rather rigid,” Prada Chairman Carlo Mazzi told Reuters in an interview in Milan.

“China has gone from being an El Dorado to being an interesting market. We believe it can return to be a fairly good market but it’s hard to say how long it’ll take,” he said.

Prada has 22 stores in Hong Kong and Greater China accounts for about 22 per cent of its global sales.

Mazzi said the brand will be “limiting expansion projects in Hong Kong and Macau” from now.

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