In Hong Kong, a protest boom for some businesses starts waning

Texwinca Holdings

14/08/2019 07:00

By Vimvam Tong and Felix Tam
    HONG KONG, Aug 14 (Reuters) - John Lam's safety equipment
shop has been spared the global downdraft shaking Hong Kong's
economy. In times of crisis, businesses providing basic
necessities tend to fare better.
    In Lam's case, that means hard hats, filtered masks, goggles
and other gear that millions of anti-government protesters
taking to the streets in the past two months bought to protect
themselves as clashes with police turned increasingly violent.
    "Many people are willing to save a meal in order to buy some
protective equipment, especially students," Lam said inside his
Shing Fat Safety Products shop in Yau Ma Tei, a working class
commercial area of the city.
    "Usually unnecessary items for civilians have become the
necessity of the moment."
    Lam, who opposes the violence that has marked many of the
protests, said sales had "doubled or tripled" since early June.
    At times, he could not replenish stocks fast enough to meet 
demand. Some customers were buying 50 items at once. But lately,
in a sign of saturation, demand has been easing. The reality of
a slowing economy is also kicking in. 
    Behind the tear gas, flying bricks and transport disruptions
there are bigger factors at play, such as shrinking global trade
volumes and a slowdown in demand from mainland China.
    Those trickle through into all aspects of the economy,
including the construction industry - Lam's core customer base.
    "Although our business has improved lately, it does not mean
that the economic downturn will not affect our business next
month," Lam said.
    Indeed, the problems facing Hong Kong's wide-open economy -
which is expected to grind to a halt in coming quarters - run so
deep that even those businesses whose products have been
repurposed as protest paraphernalia are losing momentum.
    Joe Chan, director of Many Stationery & Book Centre Co in
the Sham Shui Po, a neighbourhood that has been the scene of
protests and has been soaked in tear gas multiple times, said
sales of Post-It notes are up 20%. Protesters have been using
them to cover walls with part-art, part-political messages
across the territory. 
    But his more important clients, event organisers who use
stationery as promotion materials, are now few and far between.
Overall, revenues are down 10%.
    "This year they cancelled, or delayed," Chan said, referring
to orders.
    Emily Tam, store manager of Baleno, a clothing shop in
Causeway Bay, said stocks of black T-shirts, the unofficial
uniform of the protests, ran out on a daily basis in June and
July.
    But over the past two weekends, the shopping district
witnessed violent clashes and barricaded roads. Her shop closed
early and since then it has seen fewer customers. 
    "We're getting close to the red line that means business
losses," Tam said.
    Across the road, a seller surnamed Hui at a Watsons pharmacy
says her store often runs out of cooling pads, surgical masks
and other supplies that protesters use. But sales of other, more
expensive items, such as cosmetics, are dropping.
    "Surely we are also experiencing an overall economic
downturn. And when there was tear gas, we shut the door," Hui
said.
    
    PR BATTLEGROUND
    The economy has become a focus for a public relations battle
between authorities and protesters.
    As a city-wide strike kicked off last week, government
officials said protests were scaring high-end shoppers and
tourists away, threatening growth.
    Protesters are blaming the downturn on the fact that Hong
Kongers have little control over public policy in the absence of
universal suffrage. 
    They say the government spends too many resources on
Beijing's priorities, such as developing a "Greater Bay Area"
around the Pearl River Delta, and it is not doing enough to
solve income inequality and a housing shortage.
    Chan Chi Ming, 60, at Shing Cheong Stationery & Books Ltd,
in Sham Shui Po, agrees with the government. He is losing
business and hopes police "arrest thousands."
    But Hungry Dino owner Tracy Tang sees it differently. She
has been handing out discounted rice balls to young protesters
after hearing some skipped dinner amid family feuds over their
participation in the movement. 
    "If we say that the economic deterioration is all related to
the protests, it is extremely unfair," Tang said. "We should
shift the question to why youngsters sacrifice themselves."
    "As Hong Kongers with a conscience, we feel heartbroken for
what has happened in the past two months. It has already
affected the economy. But we will still offer discounts and
high-quality food to Hong Kong people."

 (Writing by Marius Zaharia; editing by Philip McClellan)
 ((marius.zaharia@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6358; Reuters
Messaging: marius.zaharia.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))