Hong Kong’s shopping malls under pandemic : change of strategies in leasing and management

Abstract

The Coronavirus was first found and indexed in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019 and was then transmitted to Hong Kong and has caused a pandemic in the City since January 2020. Other than health and social impact, the pandemic has caused a disastrous crisis to the Hong Kong retail market. Shopping malls in Hong Kong were no exception. Business and operation of shopping malls were challenged by the massive breakout of the pandemic, as well as the ever changing and unpredictable anti-epidemic measures of the government. The tenants, property managers and mall landlords have been suffering since the outbreak. This paper aimed to assess the economic impacts of the pandemic on Hong Kong’s shopping malls and investigate the changes of preference and expectations of Hong Kong shoppers under the pandemic. Moreover, the effectiveness of shopping malls’ measures, including property management and leasing, dealing with the Virus and the pandemic atmosphere would be evaluated. Ultimately, the study would attempt to investigate and predict the long-term leasing and management strategies of shopping malls.