H&M香港旗舰店因租金上涨关门

As retail rents boom in Hong Kong, mass-market fashion retailer H&M says it's shuttering its flagship location downtown after throwing open its doors just five years ago to considerable fanfare.

由于香港零售店面租金上涨，平价服饰零售商H&M宣布，将关闭位于香港商业区的旗舰店。而就在五年前，H&M还曾为这家店开业进行了大张旗鼓的宣传。

When the Swedish company opened its first store in China in Hong Kong's Central district in 2007, the mood was one of heady anticipation. At the time, the company had plastered billboards all over Hong Kong's subways and trams to promote the store's opening, and eager customers had queued for days to be the first inside its doors.

2007年，这家瑞典品牌在香港中环地区(Central District)开设第一家门店的消息几乎点燃了所有人的兴奋和期待。彼时，香港的地铁和有轨电车上到处都是为该店开业做宣传的广告。为了成为第一批进店消费的顾客，人们每天提早在店外排起长队，一连几天都是如此。

Now, the company says the 30,000 sq.-foot store will close next fall. It will be replaced by Zara, a Spanish competitor also known for its similar mass clientele and quick inventory turnaround. Cher Chui, an H&M spokesperson, says that the company had been unable to reach an agreement with its landlord. Zara will be paying about US$1.4 million in monthly rent, double what H&M had been paying.

现如今，这一品牌则表示，将于明年秋天关闭这家面积约2,800平方米的门店。在此之后，这里将变成Zara的门店。Zara的品牌战略与H&M类似，均以价格平民化和货品更新速度快闻名。H&M的发言人Cher Chui说，公司没有与房东达成一致。Zara每月将支付140万美元的租金，是H&M目前需要支付的租金的两倍。

Hong Kong is home to the world's highest retail rents, with rents jumping 19% since 2011 to reach an annual US$3,864 per square foot, says commercial real estate firm CBRE. Rents in Central grew by 6% in the first quarter of this year alone, reports commercial real-estate brokerage Collier International.

商业地产咨询公司世邦魏理仕(CB Richard Ellis)说，香港零售店面的租金处于全球最高水平，2011年以来已经上涨了19%，每平方英尺的年租金达到了3,864美元。房地产经纪公司高力国际(Colliers International)的报告显示，仅在今年第一季度，中环地区的房租就上涨了6%。

'It's not a big drama,' says Ms. Chui of H&M's decision to close its flagship shop. 'Retail in Hong Kong is so fast and always expanding, so shops do close and then open up elsewhere. This is quite common in Hong Kong,' says Ms. Chui, adding that none of the company's staff will be affected, and that employees will be reassigned to other H&M locations. Today, H&M has 12 shops in Hong Kong, and 80 in Chinese mainland. 'Sales in Hong Kong and China are doing very well,' says Ms. Chui.

Cher Chui在提到H&M关闭旗舰店的决定时说，这种情况并不少见。香港的零售业发展如此之快，而且一直在扩张，所以经常有店面关门，然后在别处开张的事。这在香港很常见。她补充说，公司的员工不会受到影响，这家店里的员工将被派到其他门店去。H&M目前在香港有12家门店，在内地有80家。Cher Chui说，公司在香港和内地的销售业绩都非常好。

Zara declined to comment.

Zara不予置评。

Five years ago, H&M was one of the first global fashion companies to blaze a trail downtown, helping remake a staid and quieter, more banking-oriented strip of Queen's Road Central, a major thoroughfare. Since H&M set up its massive, multi-storey premises there, says Helen Mak, Colliers's director of retail services, evening and weekend foot traffic in an area has spiked. 'They were a pioneer,' says Ms. Mak of H&M. 'More and more international brands followed them. Coach, Diesel Jeans, GAP伟they opened downtown and the street got busy.'

五年前，H&M是在香港商业区开设门店的第一批国际时装品牌之一，打破了这片位于皇后大道中、主要被银行占据的区域一成不变的宁静。高力国际零售服务总监Helen Mak说，自从H&M在皇后大道中开设了人气很旺的多楼层门店之后，这个区域晚间和周末的客流量一下子多了起来。Helen Mak说，H&M是先锋。在H&M之后，越来越多的国际品牌在商业区开店，包括Coach、Diesel Jeans以及GAP，这条街变得热闹起来。

Millions of Chinese tourists crossing the border to shop for luxury goods have helped drive the trend. 'It's never been a shopping hub for locals,' says Ms. Mak of the area around H&M. 'It's tourism-driven business.'

到香港购买奢侈品的数百万中国内地游客助推了这一趋势。Mak说，H&M周围的区域从来不是当地人的购物首选场所，这里的生意是靠旅游业带动的。

For many international brands, it's a well-trod path: use a big, glossy storefront inHong Kongto build up brand cachet among mainland visitors, then dive into the mainland market with gusto. But retail momentum in Hong Kong has begun to slow, with the city's May retail sales clocking lows in value and volume not seen since 2010. A number of brands have decided to skip Hong Kong and go straight for Chinese mainland, says Joe Lin, CBRE's senior director of retail services.

许多国际品牌都对这样的过程再熟悉不过了：在香港开设一个大面积精装店面，在内地游客中建立品牌的威望，然后志得意满地进军内地市常但是随着香港零售业的放缓，5月份香港的零售额和销量下降到了2010年以来的最低水平。世邦魏理仕零售服务总监林俊铭说，一些品牌决定绕过香港，直接进军内地市常

'Most of the luxury retailers are pretty conservative right now,' says Mr. Lin. While previously retailers were willing to pay premiums of even 30% above market rate to secure prime locations, says Mr. Lin, compared to even three or four months ago, most are reluctant.

林俊铭说，大多数奢侈品零售商现在都很保守。过去，零售商都愿意以高于市场价30%的价格租下黄金地段，甚至三、四个月前还是如此，现在大多数人都不愿意这么做了。

H&M's move marks the latest in a string of other retailers in Hong Kong that have also been displaced by higher-paying competitors. In 2010, Forever 21 took over the five-story Causeway Bay premises previously occupied by local retailer Giordano's, paying double the latter's rent for the privilege. Last year, Abercrombie likewise bid up the rent to displace long-time tenant Shanghai Tang, a Chinese-styled luxury retailer, which had been occupying a historic commercial building downtown.

H&M宣布关闭这家旗舰店之前就发生了一连串类似事件。2010年，Forever 21在铜锣湾以两倍的租金得到了佐丹奴(Giordano)的店面。去年Abercrombie & Fitch以同样的方式取得了原本由上海滩(Shanghai Tang)承租的一家门店。上海滩是一家中式奢侈品品牌，它的这家门店设在香港商业区一座历史悠久的商业建筑内。