Versace to Open 1200 SQM HK Flagship Store

Versace seems to be betting that luxury shoppers will once again line Hong Kong’s streets

Luxury retail has hit some tough times in Hong Kong, but at least one European fashion marques thinks this could be a good time to negotiate a new long-term lease. Plus, mainland developers are turning their attention back to second-tier cities after market tightening measures took the shine off major urban centres, and much more. Just keep reading.

Versace Braves HK Retail Downturn to Open 1200 SQM Flagship

International fashion brand Versace plans to open its Asia flagship store in Central in October amid a retreat by other luxury brands that have closed or scaled back their operations in Hong Kong in the face of dwindling retail sales.

Shanghai Commercial Bank said on Monday that the Milan-based fashion house has agreed to take up 12,600 square feet on the ground and first floor levels at its newly redeveloped building at 12 Queen’s Road Central. Read more>>

China 1^st Tier Restrictions Spark 2^nd Tier Frenzy

Cash-rich mainland Chinese property developers are paying top dollar for selected building sites in second-tier cites, in an effort to build up their land banks at a time when Shanghai and other leading cities close the taps on new supply.

But analysts warn leveraged bets by developers using borrowed money could backfire if growth in home prices slows or flattens, as more cities unveil measures to cool the market. Read more>>

Unresolved Property Rights Put Mainland Real Estate in Limbo

A land-title dispute in southeastern China is highlighting a major uncertainty over homeowner rights in a nation where the government owns all the land.

Some apartment owners in Wenzhou have been surprised to learn that the lease on the land under their buildings has expired, according to details published online last week by city authorities. Local media reported that residents in three compounds who tried to sell their units were told that they would first have to pay local authorities stiff fees—up to a third of the value of their apartments—to extend the lease. Read more>>

Govt Goes All Medieval on Gray Market Mortgage Providers

Commercial banks in Shanghai will today stop cooperating with six major property firms for one month while branches of seven commercial banks will suspend home loan services for two months as punishment for violating home loan policies, the local banking authority said in a statement late on Saturday.

The measures seek to clamp down gray-market mortgages, the Shanghai Office of the China Banking Regulatory Commission said. But it clarified that home purchase contracts whose online registrations were completed by 12am Sunday will remain intact. Read more>>

IKEA to Open First Pick Up Shop in China

Ikea’s first pick-up and order point in China is currently being built in Wenzhou and is expected to officially open at the beginning of this summer.

Ikea PUP store is a new model established by the company in 2015. With an area of about 1,800 square meters, the Ikea Wenzhou PUP store will display about 2,500 kinds of products. Meanwhile, local consumers can order most of Ikea’s products at the order point. It is reportedly a small-sized Ikea and the extension of the Ikea Ningbo store. Read more>>

Shanghai Authorities Praise Market Tightening Measures

SHANGHAI’S residential property market has registered positive changes over the past month as tightening measures to cool overheated sentiment started to take effect, the city’s housing authority said last night.

“Irrational sentiment among buyers has been curbed, and the latest rein-in measures introduced by the government on March 25 have been regarded by the general public as effective to damp interest of both investors and speculators, as well as to prevent housing prices from rising too fast,” the city’s housing and urban-rural development administration said. Read more>>

Tune in again tomorrow for more news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter for headlines as they happen.