Harvey Nichols Bows Out of Landmark After 18 Years

Harvey Nichols bows out of Landmark shopping mall

After 18 years, high-end luxury retailer Harvey Nichols will be vacating its space in Hong Kong's Landmark shopping mall at the end of March, citing weak consumer sentiment.

Owned by Hong Kong-based Dickson Concepts (International), Harvey Nichols will be leaving the 60,000 sq ft of space over five floors empty, though it will continue to have a presence in Pacific Place in Admiralty, according to Dickson Poon group executive chairman.

Poon (left) cites weak consumer sentiment

"Consumer sentiment remains weak", while mainland Chinese tourists in the city are "no longer focused on shopping as they used to be before the pandemic," he said, citing weaker-than-expected retail spending during Golden Week holidays in May and October.

The closure of Harvey Nichols in Central is yet another blow to Hong Kong's retail sector, which has also seen Sogo department store shut its doors in Tsim Sha Tsui in March.

It is interesting to note that Landmark, owned by Hong Kong Land, has vastly diversified its portfolio with more of its office space converted into restaurants.

One new concept is called Forty-Five in Gloucester Tower featuring four restaurants, including the newly-opened Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic and a private club. 

It's gotten to the point where the restaurants in Landmark are now competing amongst themselves for customers, which doesn't bode well for the sustainability of the dining establishments there.

Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic in Landmark

But back to the impending departure of Harvey Nichols. It's a hard pill for Poon to swallow, having prided himself on buying the British retailer and bringing it to Hong Kong, and now it can't keep going in Central.

It's also a sign that people are looking for something other than material goods to make themselves happy, which is a good thing, or their spending power has weakened immensely. Time will tell which one it is.