Russell Street in Causeway Bay, one of Hong Kong’s most expensive retail strips, has been witnessing a rapid churn in tenants amid rising rents and lukewarm sales.
The latest casualty of the city’s dour retail scene is Prince Jewellery & Watch, which recently closed its flagship shop after 21 years.
Prince Jewellery’s decision to close its 1,800 sq ft street-level shop at 58 Russell Street and at 69 Percival Street came after the landlord decided to raise the monthly rent to about HK$2 million (US$257,800) from HK$1.1 million, founder and CEO Jimmy Tang Kui-ming said by phone on Tuesday.
Property agents tasked with leasing the space said the landlord wanted to lease the ground floor of 69 Percival Street and the whole of 58 Russell Street for a combined HK$2.21 million. Clover Land Investment, the landlord, is linked to the family of former Executive Council member Maria Tam Wai-chu, according to data from Land Registry.
The closure of the outlet completes Prince Jewellery’s retreat from Causeway Bay, where it once occupied three shops. The firm, which leased the shops in 2004, paid around HK$3 million a month at the peak of the market in 2014, according to property agents.
However, the city’s retail scene has been mired in a downturn since the social unrest in 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic that followed. As a result, shop rents in the city have taken a massive hit.
