US retailers expanding in HK will push shop rents up

Shop rents in the Central business district could rise almost 50% by 2014.

A Bloomberg report said U.S.-based retailers Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap are set to open flagship stores on or near Queen’s Road Central by the first quarter of next year.

Tom Gaffney of Jones Lang LaSalle, who forecasts rents in the area to rise as much as 48% over the next three years, was quoted as saying, “You’re seeing these international brands all expanding into one core area and that’s going to cause a huge amount of traffic to flood to one location.”

View the report here.