You think you’re saving money buying your hair care products from Sa Sa? Think again. We’re going to tell you about an area where you can find shampoos, styling products, and even nail supplies at huge discounts. (more…)

Delay No Mall opened last December, transforming a previously untouched corner of Causeway Bay into a two-story shopping center loaded with personality.

Commissioning local artists to create displays, and featuring exclusive brands found only under their roof, the mall was an ambitious undertaking. Fast forward to today, Delay No Mall is closed, the large space being subdivided and re-purposed. What happened? (more…)

An updated, more stylish version of the “compartment store” has recently arrived. My Checker Box, located just a block away from Elizabeth House in Causeway Bay, provides a shopping thrill similar to browsing capsule toys. (For those of you unfamiliar with them, capsule toys are sold in clear plastic bubbles from vending machines.)

My Checker Box’s ground floor location, rare for this sort of shop, is a large 1900 square feet. Instead of a single owner, compartment shops typically rent out small cases of varying sizes to potentially over 100 different want-to-be retailers. The interior of the store includes modifiable compartments so that renters can create a tailored fit for their inventory. It’s up to the individual tenant what kind of merchandise they’d like to sell in their box.

The space is well lit, and features an interesting design both inside and outside the shop. Part of what makes the place attractive is that the items for sale (in clear plastic cases,) become part of the design. (more…)

I was walking along Cannon Street in Causeway Bay (known for pet stores and Vietnamese restaurants,) when I spotted a new shop. There was a small crowd gathered out front peering through the windows. What was the attraction? (more…)

I was walking through the Admiralty MTR station last Sunday when I noticed a large vending machine against one of the posts. Positioned in a rainbow formation beneath the glass was a colorful array of umbrellas.

Vending machines are normally associated with items such as drinks and snacks, but other, more novel uses do exist. Hong Kong Hustle previously covered the use of vending machines to sell cosmetics. We concluded that that combination of product and sales method perhaps wasn’t a great match. How about umbrellas? (more…)

For years, vacant lots sat idle on Wellington Street, a busy pathway between the escalator, Lan Kwai Fong, and the heart of Central. Recently however, the look of the street has changed dramatically. The long, inclined block now boasts a healthy array of retail brands occupying ground floor locations. What happened? (more…)

Friday night for the first time I took the new ferry directly to the Cotai strip in Macau. This recently developed area is home to several new attractions, the most prominent being the massive Venetian complex.

Arriving at night, the new route lacks the dramatic view of the older Jetfoil, but it’s a more direct option if you’re headed to Taipa. My destination for the night was the Moet Bar which recently opened in the brand new DFS Galleria Macau, part of The Shoppes at the Four Seasons. The sprawling network of buildings is actually all connected to the Venetian.

To make things clear, the Moet Bar isn’t meant to be a nightspot. In fact, its operating hours end at midnight. (more…)

Long before CLOT and Silly Thing popped up on the international street wear radar, Hong Kong was already home to several urban brands. For those who don’t know, Dusty is a local clothing company with a long pedigree. These guys have been doing their thing way before most of Hong Kong caught on. I’m talking about nearly a decade of bringing cool brands to the city and doing collaborations with underground artists from all over the world. (more…)

Being located at the foot of the world’s foremost clothing producer has its benefits. While shopping in Hong Kong offers a cornucopia of brands, there are even more choices tucked away on side streets around the city. In fact, almost every major neighborhood in Hong Kong has some sort of store selling factory samples at a fraction of their normal retail price. If you derive pleasure from uncovering hidden treasures, then sample store hunting is for you! (more…)

Strolling through the third floor of the IFC mall, I was surprised to see the denim brands: Evisu, 7 For All Mankind, True Religion, and Lucky Brand Jeans, all occupying the same corner of the shopping center. In a pamphlet nearby I read that this area is dubbed the ‘Denim Zone‘.

In Hong Kong you traditionally have similar businesses clustered together in the same district. This means that lighting stores will be next to lighting stores, restaurant suppliers next to restaurant suppliers, sneakers shops next to sneaker shops, fabric stores next to fabric stores and so forth.

Was the placement of the denim brands here an example of an old technique in a new setting, or something different altogether? If it works for kitchen sinks, will it fly for fashion? (more…)