After one year, Hysan is the place to be

The newest mall at Causeway Bay celebrates its first anniversary this year, Joyce Yip finds out how it draws eyeballs.

The newest mall at Causeway Bay celebrates its first anniversary this year, Joyce Yip finds out how it draws eyeballs.

Hysan Place – or what had been a walled construction ground referred to as “the old Mitsukoshi site” by locals for more than six years – turns one this August.

Before its opening, it charmed – and later delivered – with promises of the city’s third Apple Store; a three-storeyed bookstore, Eslite, popular in Taiwan, and a Gap store; and throughout the year, the mall continued to surprise with life-sized Iron Man displays, a Rugby Sevens carnival that had a Cathay Pacific
flash mob; and most recently, a performance from local play arts group, Detention.

Although Anisa Tio, Hysan Development’s assistant general manager in marketing, says these pushes are made just to promote its “hip and trendy” identity rather than a fight with its competition, its efforts – whether in its exotic tenant mix or elaborate events – are integral to survival in what the BBC calls “the world’s most expensive shopping district”.

we don’t really see the other outlets as competition

Anisa Tio, Hysan Development’s assistant general manager in marketing

Whether truly the most expensive globally or not, we can perhaps all agree Causeway Bay is a cruel battleground for retailers: early last year, UA Cinemas moved upstairs from its original site at Times Square to open up the fl oor space to the then-expected tenant for HK$20 million per month, Louis Vuitton, but after a year of talks, the brand announced last month it won’t be covering that bill.

Moving a block down on Russell Street, McDonald’s lost its seven-year home to Sa Sa International when it refused to dish out HK$1.58 million a month for its lease.

Aside from soaring rents, retailers must also vie with competition, literally, just around the corner. Currently, the core of Causeway Bay boasts 12 large retail complexes (along with other boutiques and street-level stores): Causeway Place, Forever 21, Fashion Walk, Island Beverly Center, Laforet, Times Square, Sogo, Windsor
House, World Trade Centre, Lee Gardens, Lee Theatre and Hysan Place. Later this year, Jones Lang LaSalle’s 31-fl oor Soundwill Plaza II – Midtown will be unveiled on Tung Lung Street – an arm’s reach from Hysan Place.

“Causeway Bay is a dynamic and vibrant place, there’s always something happening. So, we don’t really see the other outlets as competition,” Tio says. “Rather, the way we see it is the business brings more traffi c and people to the region because shoppers won’t just visit one mall: they’ll go to a handful.”

But clearly, some marketing was still needed. Earlier in the year, Hysan Development grouped its four properties, Leighton Centre (where Jack Wills is located), Lee Gardens, Lee Theatre and Hysan Place together under the brand, Lee Gardens, whereby promotions were shared across the four properties and pushed on the same Facebook page. On the practical side, the move encourages spending on its sites; on the branding side, it offers a wide enough portfolio to let shoppers think they can get all they need under one “roof”, despite the properties being detached from one another.

“Every one of our properties has a separate identity: Lee Gardens is luxurious and for the discerned customers; Lee Theatre is for the stylish shoppers who opt for the urban lifestyle, while Hysan Place carries a more avant-garde flavour,” Tio says.

“So we’re hoping to serve people who have all sorts of preferences: the woman who buys a Chanel jacket can hop over to Muji for a basic shirt to wear underneath, for example.”

With Hysan Place already running its course, Tio says her new challenge is to relaunch Lee Theatre after its complete renovation which will include a Muji café, Korean fashion line Åland and Uniqlo’s new flagship that houses features that only Japanese stores have (such as the rotating rack).

“Q4 will be entirely devoted to promoting Lee Gardens: the addition of Hysan Place just gives us more space to do what we weren’t able to do before: it’s like a completely new canvas for us.”

For its first anniversary, Hysan Place will feature an artsy “Moments of Joy” campaign – a push that addresses Hong Kongers’ hectic lifestyles with an interactive game and charity related incentives. Tio didn’t reveal further details.