Shoppers head for HK in search of bargains

Wang Cuilan was soaked with sweat as she made her way out of the crowded Guangzhou East Railway Station on Sunday evening.

"The train station is too crowded, and I had to wait in a long line," she told her husband who had been waiting for her in the arrival hall for some time.

Wang left for Hong Kong on Saturday with an empty wheeled tote bag and a knapsack, and they were full when she came back - with cosmetics, shampoo, clothes, milk powder, seasonings, jewels, electronics, food and other articles.

Wang, 33, who works in a logistics company, is just one of the thousands of Guangzhou residents who often visit Hong Kong for shopping during weekends and holidays.

With the appreciation of the yuan and inflation on the mainland, Wang, who visits Hong Kong every two to three months, said she would go more often in the coming months.

Li Nianyang, the manager of Guangzhou Travel Co Ltd's Hong Kong and Macao Tour Center, said the number of Guangdong residents who will visit Hong Kong in the last two months of this year will increase by more than 30 percent year-on-year.

The main reasons, Li said, are the devaluation of the Hong Kong dollar and the traditional Western holidays of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. "Many brand-name outlets and franchise stores in Hong Kong offer big discounts to attract buyers during the holidays," Li said.

Visitors from the Chinese mainland were delighted to see they got 100 Hong Kong dollars for less than 80 yuan last week, he added.

Juliet Fu, 27, a senior consultant for a Shanghai consultancy, has a long shopping list ready for her trip to Hong Kong next month.

"Now is a good time to buy top brands. There are definitely many must-visit stores," said Fu, who had been working in Hong Kong for three years.

Her shopping list contains well-known brands - Estee Lauder for skin care, Versace for perfume, and Prada and Chanel for bags, but also moderately priced commodities such as a hand cream that is available only at Hong Kong 7-Eleven stores.

"A lot of people are talking about year-end shopping in Hong Kong. With inflation still surging on the mainland and the devalued Hong Kong dollar, it's becoming more and more economical," she said.

This past Golden Week, which began on the first week of October, more than 1 million mainland tourists visited Hong Kong, nearly a 25 percent year-on-year increase.

Although some Hong Kong luxury retailers complained that their turnover fell short of expectations this holiday, most retail sectors still saw double-digit percentage growth.

Retail industry insiders say that wealthy people from the mainland are tightening their belts because of the economic slowdown.

But the change in the type of visiting consumers may also play a role.

Chinese tourists from non-first-tier cities are the fastest-growing consumer segment, according to a Nielsen market research report released this month.

According to Nielsen, 90 percent of the visitors go to Hong Kong for shopping. Consumers from first-tier cities spend HK$35,640 ($4,598 )per visit on average, and those from smaller cities HK$22,000 per visit.

The spending of the latter is estimated to have increased from 60 percent to 70 percent in the last two years.