HONG KONG — Consumer demand for apparel here is on the rise, sparked by a desire among locals for new things to wear in the Asian Lunar New Year and a spike in winter holiday tourists.
Shoppers in Hong Kong spent 10.3 percent more on apparel and 10.4 percent more on accessories and footwear in December than they did a year earlier, according to Hong Kong’s Information Services Department. Those rates of increase topped growth rates of 8.3 percent in apparel spending and 6.3 percent in accessories and footwear spending for all of 2005, and pushed December purchases of apparel to roughly 2.5 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $318 million, and footwear to about 419 million Hong Kong dollars, or $54 million.
Consumer spending figures for January were not yet available, but it is traditional for people to spend more than usual on apparel in December through the New Year holiday, in part because they are looking for things to bring them good luck in the year ahead.
The Asian Lunar New Year, which falls on different dates in January or February each year, began on Jan. 29. It is most commonly celebrated by the Chinese, Vietnamese and South Koreans. In Hong Kong, holiday festivities typically extend two weeks beyond New Year’s Day. This time, they continued through Feb. 12 to celebrate the beginning of the Year of the Dog.
About 20 percent of Hong Kongers were planning to spend more money during the New Year holiday than they did a year ago, based on projections by A.C. Nielsen Hong Kong. Nielsen surveyed 1,027 people, ages 15 to 54, in mid-December about their purchasing plans. Four percent aimed to shell out as much as 40 percent more.
Poised to reap the biggest benefits in the Year of the Dog, beginning with the projected flurry of shopping during the New Year period, were home entertainment goods, with 43 percent of those surveyed saying they’d spend more on them, followed by apparel, cited by 39 percent, and vacations, 31 percent, Nielsen found. Travel services commanded some of the biggest budget increases envisioned, as 3.4 percent of those contacted by Nielsen were planning to increase their travel outlays for the New Year by 50 percent to 7,506 Hong Kong dollars, or $962.
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At Harbour City, Hong Kong’s largest mall, apparel and luxury brand sales during the New Year holiday were up about 25 percent versus a year ago, while electronics saw advances of 10 to 15 percent, recounted Leng Yen-thean, assistant general manager of Harbour City Estates, which owns and manages the mall.
There were still lines outside of high-end boutiques such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci, through Feb. 15, which, Leng said, “is quite rare.” About 20 percent, or 140, of the shops at Harbour City sell luxury goods.
The extended buying season for luxury goods could reflect an improving job market, a willingness to spend year-end bonuses, and a lift from Valentine’s Day falling close on the heels of the Chinese New Year, observers noted. “The improving job market in the past few quarters has reinforced consumers’ confidence, both in their own job security as well as the state of their personal finances,” related Amy Lee, director of customized research at A.C. Nielsen Hong Kong.
More broadly, sales at Harbour City in December hit a record 1,200 Hong Kong dollars, or $154, a square foot — a 17 percent increase over 2004, Leng said. Harbor City’s selling space measures 2 million square feet, including 700 shops, 50 restaurants and two movie theaters.
At Moiselle, a local fashion player, purchases of apparel, accessories and shoes made by women ages 28 to 40 averaged 3,000 Hong Kong dollars, or $385, for the New Year period, said Moiselle’s marketing coordinator Karen Tso. The company’s strongest business comes during the Christmas and New Year holiday periods, Tso noted.
Spending for fashion items under Moiselle’s Mademoiselle brand, a label targeting women ages 25 to 35, was averaging 900 Hong Kong dollars, or $116, while Moiselle’s Imaro range, aimed at a younger, 22- to 28-year-old customer, was drawing fashion purchases of 400 Hong Kong dollars, or $51, on average.
The Christmas season, the Asian Lunar New Year holiday and July and August, which feature summer sales promotions, are typically Hong Kong’s strongest periods of consumer spending on clothing.