Rent Higher than Manhattan Doesn't Faze Forever 21 in Hong Kong

scott

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-16/high-h-k-retail-rent-doesn-t-faze-forever-21.html

"Forever 21, which opened its first Hong Kong store in January, said it is paying $1.4 million a month -- its highest rent in the world, both in total terms and per square foot. It pays less in New York’s Times Square."

"Hong Kong retail sales grew 25 percent in 2011 from a year earlier, driven by mainland Chinese travelers snapping up luxury and retail goods, according to government data."

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catch22

Reply to @Maurice:
Visited Hong Kong for 10 days 40 years ago. It was quite the place then for very sophisticated shops. At the time, the Ginza district of Tokyo; where I visited for a month; was really upscale and to my understanding is still one of the most expensive real estate areas. 'Course Qatar and related areas in the middle east are not lacking. I will note that Moscow is probably one of the greatest change places in the last 10 years. I have not checked for current pricing; but you may choose to price a nice room at the Marriott Grand in Moscow. It was very expensive a few years ago. Lots of new wealth in Moscow.
Take care,
Catch

Kenster1_GlobalValue

When I visited Hong Kong around the age of 10, I absolutely loved the variety of toy shops --- robots, radio-controlled cars, handheld electronic games, etc. It was an awesome dream come true. And they were found everywhere - tons of different handheld games to choose and buy from. And nothing much over here - pretty bland choices available places like Sears, Kmart, Woolworth, etc.

In addition to apparel retailer Forever 21 --- here's something from VFC about their North Face line and their 4th-quarter results:

"North Face sales rose 22%, including a 24% increase in North Face Americas. Excluding the impact of currency translations, European sales of the label were up 12%, while Asian sales jumped 41%."


But there really isn't any comparison nowadays too with all of HK's new modern infrastructures, modern & upscale malls & entertainment centers. Modern, chic, clean and upscale looking. I have been to the majority of the States around this country and most places are old and bland looking as if we don't like modern architecture or something. We have mass suburbs where they all filled with Home Depot, Lowes, Costco, Walmart, Cracker Barrel and Denny's.

Shanghai International Airport:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghai_Pudong_International_Airport_Interior.jpg
http://www.krugerfan.com/projects_shanghai-pudong_airport.php

Hong Kong International Airport:
http://maps.google.com/maps/place?rlz=1T4GWYA_enUS311US311&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=hong+kong+airport&fb=1&gl=us&hq=hong+kong+airport&cid=2507115643612183736

And this is what Hong Kong's Victoria Habor looks like at night:
http://famouswonders.com/victoria-harbor-in-hong-kong/

Sample modern shopping Plaza:
http://www.leegardens.com.hk/eng/

Also - if you were to arrive in Singapore, have a look at their airport and take the high-speed transportation from the airport into the city....you'll say to yourself, holy sh*t...this is what the 21st century feels like.

scott

Reply to @Kenster1_GlobalValue: " if you were to arrive in Singapore, have a look at their airport and take the high-speed transportation from the airport into the city....you'll say to yourself, holy sh*t...this is what the 21st century feels like."

And yet, the train takes longer to get across this country and there's far fewer routes now then it did/there were decades ago (and a couple of them were dropped in the last several years.)