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Hong Kong Retailers Forecast Sharp Drop In Sales As Protests Rock City

By Dayeeta Das
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Hong Kong Retailers Forecast Sharp Drop In Sales As Protests Rock City

Hong Kong retailers said on Tuesday they expect sales for July and August to drop by double-digits from a year earlier due to protests that have gripped the Chinese-ruled city for more than a month.

Double-Digit Fall

On top of that forecast, the Hong Kong Retail Management Association also sharply changed its full-year retail sales forecast to a double-digit fall instead of single-digit growth.

It urged the government to resolve the dispute over a proposed extradition bill peacefully.

Millions have taken to the streets over the past month in some of the largest and most violent protests in Hong Kong in decades over a bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party.

The retail group's statement came after a relatively peaceful rally descended into chaos late on Sunday, when protesters in a shopping mall that houses some of the world's largest luxury brands threw umbrellas and plastic bottles at police who retaliated by firing pepper spray and swinging batons.

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"The (retail) industry is worried that the incident will hit Hong Kong's international image as a safe city with good food and a shopping paradise," the association said in a statement.

Retail Sales Forecast

Last month, PwC revised down its Hong Kong full-year retail sales forecast to a 5% drop, from a 3% fall for 2019, amid the Sino-US trade dispute, equity market turbulence and volatility of the Chinese yuan.

PwC also said the recent political and social unrest, coupled with a lack of new tourist attractions, might lower mainland tourists' appetite to visit Hong Kong in the short run.

The value of Hong Kong retail sales in May declined 1.3% from a year earlier.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

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