Exclusive | Hong Kong pharmacy joins Russell Street retail scene to capitalise on rent slump

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Retail space along Russell Street in Causeway Bay once commanded the highest rates among global shopping strips. Photo: Sun Yeung

A local pharmacy has emerged as the newest tenant on Russell Street in Causeway Bay, filling the space previously leased by Italian luxury lingerie brand La Perla to take advantage of a 46 per cent slump in rents in one of Hong Kong’s costliest retail strips.

Yu Shing, the pharmacy owner, is expected to pay about HK$1 million (US$129,000) a month for the premises at 22-24 Russell Street, according to property agents, who declined to be named because the information is private. No other tenancy terms were immediately available.

La Perla, which signed a long-term lease for HK$7.5 million a month in 2015, vacated the four-storey building in September 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since its exit, the landlord Emperor International has rented out the space on a weekly or monthly basis, including to pop-up stores.

The Yu Shing leasing deal marks the latest change of tenant mix in Causeway Bay, one of Hong Kong’s four core shopping districts, as the city’s retail industry continues to grapple and evolve with economic conditions and changing spending habits among local consumers and tourists.

Retail space along Russell Street in Causeway Bay once commanded the highest rates among global shopping strips. Photo: Sun Yeung

Tenants along Russell Street, a 250-metre-long thoroughfare, paid as much as US$2,671 per square foot on average in annual rent at the peak of the market in 2018, topping global shopping strips including the Champs Elysees boulevard in Paris, Omotesando in Tokyo and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

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Amjad Ali 2 weeks ago

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