Vancouverites Priced Out of Oakridge Park

Oakridge Park is bright an airy, but also very expensive

Oakridge Park has partially opened in Vancouver, and after years of watching it being built, many residents were curious to see how the old shopping mall was replaced.

Gone was the large street level parking lot and in its place is a huge upscale mall, parking in the basement, and luxury condos in the towers above. The prices for these units were apparently so expensive that only the uber rich could afford them, and even then there were stories going around that there was valet parking which deterred some prospective buyers.

Lots of luxury brands and a champagne bar

In a bid to showcase Oakridge Park and get some customers in, a section of the mall featuring Time Out Market, the gourmet food hall was opened first in late May.

There was a lot of hype about Time Out Market, and in the first few days there were mobs of people trying to get to this area on the second floor; one report was that it was an hour wait just to get in, and almost as long to get food.

People were enticed to come thanks to a huge social media push that invited influencers to film themselves trying the food. For example, there's Iron Chef winner and celebrity chef Rob Feenie come and offer his Feenie burgers, Lunch Lady has a condensed version of its pho offerings, Top Chef Canada winner Chanthy Yen presenting Mee, a Cambodian menu of rice or noodle bowls, and Beaucoup Bakery and Mello with their pastries and doughnuts respectively.

Nevertheless, the food court is popular because there's a giant screen showing the World Cup games, like when we went the other day.

Cambodian noodles from Mee Bar

I ordered a bowl of noodles from Mee Bar, with slices of braised pork, rice noodles, two prawns, half a soft-boiled egg and bean sprouts with a slightly sour and spicy sauce for $26. Sadly it did not fill me up, and I wasn't about to buy something else in the food hall.

Security also seems overly hyper vigilant. We walked in with a cup of water and a security guard told us no outside drinks allowed. We explained it was just water and at first she refused to let us bring it into the food hall and suggested we use the water dispenser which made no sense -- we already had water! She finally let us go. It was a bit much.

As one can surmise, most of the food offerings are Asian, to target a certain crowd, as evidenced by the retail stores.

The shopping mall itself looks like one that could be found in China or Hong Kong, though Oakridge Park seems to be even grander with the stores all spread out thanks to the wide berth between them.

And yes all the shops are on the high end: Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Tiffany & Co., Alexander Wang, Chow Tai Fook, Rolex, Prada and Dior to name a few.

The mix of stores is very high end and empty

Meanwhile the only cheapest option is Sephora to buy lipstick or a Korean beauty mask until supermarket Safeway opens. There are no toy stores or bookstores, or a range of stores offering various price points.

Some people who have visited Oakridge Park describe it as soulless, similar to an airport mall, full of greed and excess, and makes them feel poor. 

I have to agree... Oakridge Park was planned when there seemed to be a never-ending tap of Chinese money flowing to Vancouver, but the spigot has been turned off and now there are too many condos and not enough buyers to afford them.

Unfortunately we're left with what could soon become a white elephant...

Hong Kong's Challenging Times

Hong Kong is facing challenging times these days

Last year when I visited Hong Kong, it was eerily quiet as a lot of people had left the city for Easter break. 

This time around it looked busier, but looking at the shopping malls it is sad to see how empty they are, as the shops are empty. Not a single customer inside. The shop staff are looking at their phones or looking very bored. This is the state of retail these days.

Times Square mall was quiet just after 6pm

Case in point: this afternoon I wandered around Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, steps away from the Star Ferry. It used to be the place mainlanders shopped in, with queues in front of Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Dior. While there were people wandering around window shopping, hardly anyone was buying anything, even mainland visitors.

No locals are buying because they are worried about their financial situation. A few days ago a friend told me that his manager and mid-level managers were let go -- immediately. His immediately boss had no idea she would be sacked and after seeing the human resources manager, went to her desk to pack up her stuff and left.

Another who had an inkling of what was going to happen, said farewell to colleagues, took their purse with them and they didn't see them again. People at work purposely keep only a few items in the office just in case they will be axed.

Meanwhile those left behind must pick up the pieces and take on even more work, for the same amount of pay, or a pay cut even, as times are tough. 

Sunset light reflects on ICC building

The media industry is rapidly unravelling thanks to artificial intelligence. The Hong Kong Standard sacked all of their sub editors, people who check stories for grammar and make sure it is factually correct. They have all been replaced by AI. Currently AI can rewrite stories, but not necessarily with the information intact and must be looked over to ensure the facts are still there...

Editors are even using AI to rewrite stories for them -- the job they are supposed to be doing! Do they want to be out of a job themselves? It's so bizarre and crazy that this is happening so fast. My friends joked they will have to turn to basket weaving to sustain themselves financially.

Meanwhile millennials are challenging to work with, unable to follow instructions or have the passion to work hard. Two friends told me they are literally babysitting the staff they work with, following up to make sure they finish their assignments, and they do so at odd hours -- like 3am or 5pm, or don't consider how their work will be perceived outside of the company. But they can't be fired otherwise my friends will have to do even more work.

It feels like schools are downsizing by the month, as teachers continue to quit and leave, and about the same proportion of students; this has resulted in lowering qualifications for teachers, in particular NET or native English teachers, while the same goes for the police, who have pretty much done away with stringent physical tests.

How can Hong Kong survive like this? It's hard to be optimistic for the city when you see the difficulties and no light at the end of the tunnel. 

But when looked at another way, a friend who moved with her two daughters from Beijing to Hong Kong a year ago, they love being here, despite the challenges of having to learn Cantonese and English. They enjoy eating different kinds of cuisines, like the fact there are hardly any queues for rides at Hong Kong Disneyland, and they are exposed to different kinds of opinions.

Nevertheless does the government have ideas on how to navigate the city through these challenging times? It's time to think outside the box to stimulate the economy and bring back visitors who splurge, not ones who follow advice on Xiaohongshu to spend the least amount of money...

 

Weak Yen Fuels Luxury Shopping Spree

Many tourists line up to snap up luxury goods in Japan

The weak yen in Japan has led to a splurge in luxury shopping, not by local residents, but by mainland Chinese consumers.

They are flocking to the land of the rising sun to snap up designer goods that would cost more back home. That's because the yen hit a 38-year low against the US dollar last month, which has led to tourists in Asia coming to shop till they drop.

The Louis Vuitton Alma BB handbag

For example, Louis Vuitton's Alma BB handbag costs 14,800 yuan in China, or US$2,050. In Japan it currently goes for 279,400 yen, or US$1,875. Last month when the yen was even lower it could have been snapped up for US$1,725.

It's a problem LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton and other brands like Dior and Fendi, does not want to have, as the conglomerate is taking in less profits; it cannot adjust prices quickly because of the volatility of the currency.

Tourists, not just Chinese, but also from Southeast Asia and the United States are taking advantage of the weak yen and not just buying designer luxury goods, but also jewellery, watches and spirits. 

In June, Japan had a record 3.1 million foreign visitors, and is projected to beat the annual record of almost 32 million foreign arrivals in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Spending by tourists is anticipated to reach 8 trillion yen (US$54.74 billion) this year, according to the government, as tourism is keeping the economy afloat despite the aging population.

Retail Boom Days may be Over in Hong Kong

Mainland shoppers hauling purchases from Hermes in TST

The cancellation of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) tests for visitors before arriving into Hong Kong did not result in hoards of mainlanders flooding into the city as shop owners had hoped.

Several shop owners, particularly pharmacies lamented that business only increased by 10 percent.

Chanel is a popular luxury brand for Chinese

"During the pandemic, the economy and lifestyle of the mainlanders changed... They have become reliant on online shopping," said pharmacy owner Tony Lee.

"Before the pandemic, there used to be lines of customers queuing outside my shop and this street was full of tourists," he said of San Hong Street in Sheung Shui, across the border from Shenzhen. 

Lee worried business would not go back to pre-pandemic levels because consumers seemed used to shopping online than going to physical stores like his.

While mainland tourists have noticed many shops have shuttered since the pandemic, the biggest winners so far seem to be luxury brands.

Mainlanders believe HK products are real

Mainlanders are still keen to shop at Dior, Louis Vuitton and Chanel because they believe the goods are genuine -- they still perceive the same products in shops in China are fake...

Is this the only thing going for Hong Kong these days?