London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 23, 2025

Hong Kong protests and coronavirus see Prada, Tissot make way for cheap phone store on world’s most expensive shopping street

With rents plunging amid an exodus of high-end fashion brands, the famously exclusive Russell Street in Causeway Bay is welcoming a humbler type of retailer. One shop that used to house Swiss watch maker Tissot is now home to a mobile phone accessories vendor paying just 6 per cent of what its predecessor forked out in monthly rent

For years it was the world’s most expensive shopping street, overshadowing anything Paris or London had to offer, its pavements brimming with shoppers hunting for Prada bags, Chanel perfumes and Blancpain watches.

But Russell Street, in Hong Kong’s bustling Causeway Bay, has lost its lustre – and a lot of its high-end tenants. The luxury fashion houses are slowly making way for more humble retailers.

One shop that used to house the Swiss watch maker Tissot is now home to a mobile phone accessories vendor paying just 6 per cent of what its predecessor forked out in monthly rent.

“You never know, one day we may see a convenience store on Russell Street or a hotpot restaurant,” said Oliver Tong, head of retail at property services firm JLL in Hong Kong.

The amount of empty retail space on the glitzy boulevard doubled during the first three months of this year as a succession of international brands decided enough was enough. Already struggling for survival after months of civil unrest crippled Hong Kong’s economy, the final blow for many came this year with the coronavirus pandemic, which killed off any remaining consumer sentiment.

Colourmix, a cosmetics chain, will close its shop on Russell Street, for which it pays HK$700,000 a month, when its five-year lease expires in October, according to agents familiar with the matter.

The landlord is now asking for HK$600,000 a month, 14 per cent lower, in a sign retail rents have not yet hit rock bottom.

On Monday, large bright red and yellow banners promoting “removal sales” and discounts of up to 80 per cent were visible at the door of the store and pasted on shelves occupied by exquisite Chanel and Gucci perfume bottles and jars.

Colourmix is the sixth of Russell Street’s 27 stores to call it a day since November, after Prada, Bonjour, Rado, Blancpain and Tissot. The departures have come despite some landlords slashing rent to accommodate their financial difficulties.

“It is hard to keep these retailers, particularly those focusing on tourists’ business, from shrugging off generous rental concessions. It is a fact, although brutal, that tourists will not be coming back soon, and everybody know it,” said Tong. “And it is also difficult to find new takers as no one dares to expand at this moment.”

Shops abandoned by Italian fashion house Prada, luxury watch sellers Rado, and Blancpain were still sitting idle when the Post visited on Monday.

At the very end of Russell Street, the 800 sq ft shop that has hosted Swiss watch brand Tissot for nine years sells accessories, such as phone charging wires and plastic bathroom hooks, for as little as HK$1.

The shop, which secured a six-month lease, is only paying HK$100,000 per month, just 6 per cent of the HK$1.43 million monthly rent paid by Tissot, according to agents and Land Registry documents.

Russell Street is located in the heart of Causeway Bay, one of Hong Kong’s busiest shopping districts. On the corner of Russell Street and Matheson Street stands Times Square, a hugely popular shopping centre.



The 250-metre long street that used to be lined with upmarket brands was a microcosm of Hong Kong’s once robust luxury retail industry.

It used to charge annual rent of US$2,800 (HK$21,700) per square foot, surpassing New York’s Fifth Avenue and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris as the world’s most expensive shopping strip, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

However, it has lost its shine as international and local brands have shut up shop one after the other amid the city’s devastating protest movement, which was swiftly followed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The vacancy rate of shops in Russell Street has soared from 5 per cent at the end of last year to near 10 per cent at the end of March, according to JLL. It will increase further when Colourmix moves out of its premises, for which a new occupant has not yet found, and the accessories shop finishes its lease.



Rent in Causeway Bay dropped 15 per cent in the first three months of the year, according to Cushman & Wakefield, and is expected to slide further. The property consultancy foresees that in the six months ending June, rent in most “core retail districts”, including Causeway Bay may drop as much as 40 per cent.

“Landlords and retailers have to adjust to the fact that in the next two to three years, the 7 million locals are their major target,” said JLL’s Tong, suggesting that the street will shift from catering for tourist consumption to trying to capture local spending.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×