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Tram enthusiasts should all be familiar with Eric Lee, who founded Hong Kong Trams Enthusiast in 2006 to provide a communication platform for tram lovers. In 2010, he collaborated with Hong Kong Tramways to launch a series of souvenirs, before opening the Hong Kong Trams Station store at Peak Galleria in October 2013. The store’s aim was to preserve and present the story of Hong Kong’s iconic trams, and to showcase different collectable items. Then, in September 2018, the store was moved to Link’s Siu Sai Wan Plaza and transformed into the Hong Kong Tram Store. While trams are still very much the main theme, the store also sells nostalgic toys, food and handbags to appeal to a broader range of shoppers and interests.
Visitors are greeted at the entrance of the store by an eye-catching 1:1 model of the front of the traditional tramcar #120 with its 1950s design. This sets the tone for tram aficionados, as they are welcomed into a wonderland of model toy trams, similar to the old shop at Peak Galleria. What’s new here is the addition of a variety of food items that, together the shop’s many other wares such as model buses and souvenirs, offer a trip back in time for nostalgia-seekers.
“As Siu Sai Wan Plaza is frequented by people from the neighbourhood, we wanted to change our focus to become more of a lifestyle store,” Eric explained. “So in addition to toys and models of buses, planes and other modes of transportation, we also started selling nostalgic foods such as traditional candies, coconut wraps and iced gem biscuits in order to broaden our customer base. While most of our clients are older, we get plenty of students who come to buy snacks before and after school.”
According to Eric, the shop at Peak Galleria was in business for nearly five years. He decided to relocate to Siu Sai Wan because the second phase of the Galleria was being renovated in the second half of 2018. He said that the shop had already moved once, from the first to second phase when the former was being renovated.
“Back then, we were already worried that we had to stop operating for two years to wait for the renovation to be completed. It just happened that we were approached by Link, which offered us a 500- to 600-square-foot space at Stanley Plaza. But we had concerns about the rent, and that’s when Link proposed a 200-square-foot space at Siu Sai Wan Plaza. After thinking it through we decided to move here. In fact, the rents are pretty much the same between Siu Sai Wan Plaza and Peak Galleria, but the positioning of the shopping centres couldn’t be more different. Peak Galleria is filled with tourists on most days, while Siu Sai Wan is all about the local community.”
Because of that, the merchandise at the shop needs to be more diverse. Eric said, “Although we still carry toy cars and buses, we can no longer rely on them to draw customers. We need to sell more daily items and food, and other gift products such as retro hipster handbags from Taiwan, in order to broaden our customer base.”
Even though the Siu Sai Wan shop sells a wider range of merchandise than the old shop, Eric insists that he wants to continue to promote local history and nostalgia. For example, the shop carries badges with the image of the late Queen of England and “I love Hong Kong” stickers.
“In the past decade, many people have started to pay more attention to local culture and to look at things from a different perspective. Before, they never treasured old things and they also neglected local values. Nowadays, consumers won’t just go to shopping malls that are basically carbon copies of each other. There’s now a renewed interest in Hong Kong’s history and things that reflect local values, with even some social media pages devoted to old photos.”
It’s been 10 years since the first Peak shop began operating in 2013. In 2022, Eric opened a second store in the renovated Central Market. He has since resigned from his job in human resources and is now running the shops full-time. “Luckily we moved to Siu Sai Wan in 2018, and the customers from the neighbourhood really helped with business development, since they caused us to shift our operating strategy. So even though the business is not making a lot of money, we have experienced a lot. And thanks to the support from the local community, our business wasn’t too badly impacted by the pandemic. That’s why we also need to thank Link for recruiting us.”
He wishes more people would patronise more “down-to-earth” shops with “local flavour” – not just his store, but also other retailers that share his ethos and philosophy. “I chose to open this shop at a mall with more local traffic because my main clientele are local Hong Kong people.”
