Singapore rivals Hong Kong as new luxury hotspot

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
May 23, 2016

As foreign fashion houses continue to open new stores in Singapore - and revamp existing ones - Hong Kong is being rivalled as the luxury hotspot in Asia for mainland Chinese consumers.

Hermès relaunched its Singapore flagship this month on the prime-shopping strip, Orchard Road.

The new store has been expanded to 670 square metres over four storeys, designed in the likeness of Hermès Bond Street, London store.

The relaunch follows other luxury brands, who are putting more time and money into Singapore as a luxury hotspot.

This includes Patek Philippe, which refurbished its Singapore store last month, reopening as the brand’s biggest outlet in Southeast Asia, while Moncler opened its first boutique in the city last year. 

Just this week, UK fashion label Mulberry opened its fourth boutique in the city - also on Orchard Rd.

Chinese tourism in Singapore rose by 34% in the first two months of 2016, compared with the same period last year. Singapore is also a stopover for many Chinese tourists as part of a regional tour which includes visits to Malaysia or Thailand.

Comparatively, Hong Kong witnessed a dive in mainland Chinese tourism accompanied by a drop in their retail spending, the latter falling 8% last year. 

The slowdown has already hit operations in Hong Kong for foreign brands Richemont and Burberry. Luxury jeweller Chow Tai Fook revealed earlier in the year that it expected to close up to six stores in Hong Kong.