To encourage spending, nearly 40 shop merchants provided special offers and gifts to the Mainland visitors. The greatest discount was up to 70% off. In addition, The Link took the opportunity to hold a “Best Buy of the Day” promotion on prestigious items such as diamonds and brand name perfumes. Participants in the shopping tour and other Mainland visitors were also able to shop at the Mid Autumn trade fair at discounted prices and join a Grand Lucky Draw for prizes such as Memory Foam pillows and crystal pendants.  During the promotional period, the total spending at the shopping centres reached HK$2,000,000.

 

Mr K T Poon, Director of Corporate Communications of The Link, said, “Goods sold at the shopping centres of The Link are good value for money with a wide range of choices.  Some shopping centres are located near sight-seeing destinations and transport hubs, making them good and trustworthy shopping places for Mainland visitors. This is the first time for us to cooperate with a Mainland real estate developer and website to organise such a sizeable shopping tour, which drew 600 visitors to shop at Lung Cheung Plaza, Lok Fu Plaza and Wong Tai Sin Plaza for various popular consumer items. Lok Fu Plaza has completed its asset enhancement project this year, introducing a wider variety of trades and raising its appeal to the Mainland visitors.  That helped push turnover up and strengthen the branding of our shopping centres in Mainland China.

 

“We have a strong alliance of shop operators participating in this promotion, covering daily necessities, beauty and wellness products, jewellery, dried seafood and electrical appliances,” he added. “The Mainland visitors were encouraged to spend through a series of special offers. We will continue to step up the promotion targeting the business opportunities brought by the Mainland visitors, including shopping tours under different themes and arrangements, publicity in various provinces and cities, as well as collaboration with large enterprises and estates in the Mainland.  We hope that more Mainlanders can have a continuously improved shopping experience at our shopping centres.”

 

Mr Wong, owner of one of the participating shops, Noble Diamond, said, “Following the popularity of the Individual Visit Scheme, more and more visitors from the Mainland are coming to buy diamonds for their own use or as gifts.  The Link has organised promotional activities specific to this particular group of customers a number of times, which has helped increase patronage as well as our turnover and business opportunities.”

 

Mr Lam, owner of Central Universe Medicine & Health Care, another participating shop at Lung Cheung Plaza, said, “The upward trend of the Renminbi has made Mainland customers feel that their purchases in Hong Kong are priced lower. In recent years, it is common to see groups of Mainland visitors during public holidays coming to buy daily necessities and wellness products in bulk quantity.  This is because our products are genuine and have credibility.”

 

Miss Wong, a designer living in Shenzhen who visited Lung Cheung Plaza during the promotional period, said, “I am more confident about shopping for genuine goods in Hong Kong. This is my first time coming to a shopping centre in Wong Tai Sin. The products here are priced lower, and I have a wide variety of choices. My favourite items are daily necessities such as Chinese medicinal herbs, cosmetics and health supplements. This kind of shopping promotion offers convenient transportation and many special offers.  I will definitely come again.”