Sportswear brand Adidas will take over the space which formerly hosted the Coach flagship in Central.
But the most telling feature of the changeover is the rent Adidas will pay. Land Registry data reportedly shows Adidas will pay 23 per cent less for the retail space than Coach did. Coach was previously paying HK$5.6 million a month; Adidas has secured the site for $4.34 million.
In another deal reported this week, cosmetics retailer Colourmix will be taking over a 1000 sqft space in Russell St, Causeway Bay which was previously occupied by watch maker Jaeger-LeCoultre. Colourmix will pay $1 million a month, a massive 43 per cent less than the watch brand.
As previously reported by Inside Retail Hong Kong, realtors are unanimously predicting a downturn in retail rents in Hong Kong’s prime shopping strips. The general consensus was an average of between 15-20 per cent when leases are renegotiated or tenants vacate.
At the end of June, CBRE data showed Causeway Bay rents were down 12 per cent, and Central’s by three per cent.
It would appear from these new deals that those figures have a long way to climb before a clear pattern emerges.