From heyday to present day: How The Mills has turned its history into a modern business

Two years in
Opened in December 2018, The Mills is a landmark revitalisation project of Nan Fung Group. With Hong Kong still in the grip of the pandemic, The Mills decided to put its WeWeave Cultural Festival — a celebration of its second anniversary — online.

An extraordinary lineup of activities was arranged featuring live streaming performances from popular local singers Eman Lam, Terence Lam and Serrini, with an immersive theatre and a cultural market also available online.

The Mills now stands as an experiential retail destination. One of The Mills’ pillars, CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textiles) is a non-profit cultural institution which showcases The Mills’ pride in its history as a textile factory from the 1960s until 2008.The Mills is a private revitalisation project with a nod to the textile industry, combining retail experiences, business incubation, and a centre for promoting textiles in support of fashion startups. It also boasts a gallery which includes exhibitions and co-learning programmes, aimed at being an art centre that weaves creative experiences for all.

Embracing the past
From the beginning, The Mills faced a challenge promoting its business model as it aimed to preserve Hong Kong’s history while also developing a new, sustainable business.

“Our marketing efforts are based on the rich history of the factory,” says Ellie Leung, director - marketing, The Mills.

“We inherit Hongkongers’ spirit of hardworking and human warmth, but the more important thing is to support Hong Kong’s textile industry. That is why we adopted the idea of ‘from textile to techstyle’ to symbolise the transition from our heritage to innovation, and from old to new,” Leung explains.

Although Hong Kong has a number of revitalisation projects, The Mills is a rare one that was transformed from a factory which involved thousands of workers in its heyday, which has helped it establish a strong bond with the community.In 2019, The Mills invited about 100 former workers and their families to join a “poon choi” (a traditional Cantonese festival meal composed of many layers of different ingredients served in large basins) banquet, offering them a chance to meet their old friends and relive the memories of the factory’s heyday.
Apart from this, The Mills also conducts public tours to tell the history of the factory as the management believes that the city’s history is something for the younger generation to be proud of.

Unique experiences
Close proximity to an MTR station is an advantage for any destination in Hong Kong; however, it’s one advantage The Mills has to do without. Built well before the MTR came to the city, it’s still a 10-minute trip out from the closest station. To offset this challenge, The Mills aims to offer experiences to which other venues can hardly compare.

“Experiential marketing is the core of our business. Tenants are the content of The Mills and we invite them to curate the events and workshops to offer visitors an enhanced experience,” Leung tells.

Through workshops, exhibitions, and collaborations with NGOs, tenants of The Mills become a crucial part of the story, engaging the community and inspiring the visitors.

In October, The Mills launched “The Mills Monster Friends,” offering a series of Halloween programmes for visitors and their kids. On the last two days of the event, visitors could even play trick or treat with tenants to share the joy.

Bringing people together
Leung elaborates that The Mills is a special space that is still new to the community with plenty of space and a pet-friendly environment. Asked what have been the major changes over the past two years, Leung ponders for a while and says, “The increase in footfall.”

“We offer a pet-friendly place for visitors. It is a rare feature that indoor spaces in Hong Kong can provide,” says Leung.Earlier this year, The Mills launched “A Window into Tsuen Wan”, a photography exhibition showcasing the district’s history and uniqueness. The photos covered the changes in Tsuen Wan due to industrial development, and documented key zones that have served as work, rest, and leisure areas including Fuk Loi Estate, Heung Che Street Market, Sha Tsui Road Playground and Tsuen Wan Town Hall.

Moreover, The Mills launches a summer programme every year for students to gain exposure and develop their interests in potential careers. Students are invited to create products based on advice from their mentors and creativity.

Leung says the programme is aimed at enabling students to explore their careers at a relatively early stage, hoping to equip them with more experience to face challenges in the future.

Bouncing back
Ultimately, The Mills is a destination tailored to provide experiences. As the lingering impact of COVID-19 affects Hongkongers’ ability to gather, The Mills’ business is inevitably impacted.

There is a saying that offline events and customers’ spending habits will switch to the online landscape after the pandemic as visitors or customers become used to buying and enjoying everything online. However, Leung believes that The Mills’ business will rebound after the pandemic.

“The Mills is the one and only that combines a variety of experiences in Hong Kong,” says Leung.

“As Hongkongers are used to going out to enjoy life, experiential retail and marketing will continue to thrive after the pandemic and these are the areas that our future lies in.”