Hong Kong is bidding goodbye to yet another international retailer—this time, it’s American clothing brand Gap.
According to Apple Daily, Gap is expected to close all its stores in the city, including the four-storey flagship store in Central, by the end of this month. The Tung Chung discount outlet will reportedly also shut, a closure that would mark the retailer’s exit from the Hong Kong market.
At the Central store, clothing items have had their prices heavily slashed, and mannequins and clothes hangers are also up for sale, the paper reported.
Over the summer, Gap closed five of its eight locations in the city, including in Causeway Bay’s Hysan Place and Sha Tin’s New Town Plaza.
Coconuts has reached out to Gap’s office for comment but has not received a reply at the time of writing. Phone calls made to the Central store went unanswered.
The shutting down of Gap in Hong Kong comes after the economic downturn forced the recent closures of lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret and fashion retailer Topshop.
The American fashion brand opened its flagship location in 2011, taking up a 13,000 square feet unit in the heart of the business district, and over the years expanded to Kowloon and the New Territories.
Gap is among the thousands of struggling big-name retailers that have seen their steady decline accelerated by the COVID-19 epidemic. According to CNN, the company announced in August that it would be shutting down over 225 Gap and Banana Republic (which the brand also owns) locations globally.
It is also considering closing all of its stores in the UK, media reported.
