After jewellery brand Tiffany & Co. confirmed that it would shut its shop on Hong Kong’s Canton Road, one of the most expensive commercial real-estate locations in the city, Italian fashion label Valentino has become the second top luxury label to close a flagship store in the same location, effective immediately.
Canton Road, along with Russell Street in the neighbourhood of Causeway Bay, was until recently one of the world’s most important locations for luxury brands worldwide. The retail strip is one of the main commercial arteries in Tsim Sha Tsui at the tip of the Kowloon peninsula, and has long attracted wealthy shoppers from China who, until recently, were lining up outside the boutiques of luxury giants such as Hermès, Chanel and Gucci.
Tiffany & Co. and Valentino join a list of international and local brands such as Prada, Omega, Hong Kong cosmetics chain Sasa and jeweller Chow Tai Fook that have not decided to renew leases for some of their stores after months of anti-government protests that began in the city in June 2019 and have hit the retail sector extremely hard.
Retailers are now struggling even more amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has kept travellers away from Hong Kong and caused the government to implement measures such as banning gatherings of more than four people.
