A “Hong Kong mall” opened in Shenzhen this week to much fanfare, with dedicated sections named after local districts such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok, and Causeway Bay.
CTF HOKO mall, which is run by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTF), is located in Qianhai, and not Uncanny Valley, as we had previously thought.
Amongst the 17 shops currently open, the namesake jewellery chain is featured prominently, as well as cosmetics giant Sasa and local clothing retailer G2000.
A photoseries on WeChat shows a large Mr Softee-style ice cream van situated smack dab in the middle of the mall, ready to churn out cones for those pursuing that super authentic tourist spot vibe.
Imported goods like baby formula and luxury skincare proved to be a huge draw, according to SCMP, but apparently put some shoppers off due to their marked-up prices.
The mirror mall, which is still in its Soft-ee opening, offers a split between traditional shopping and a virtual method, where buyers can reportedly inspect samples and place an order via a smartphone app.
The latter method does away with tariffs, value-added tax and consumption tax, instead including a “postal tax”, which apparently often lowers the combined cost.
However, the reduced cost apparently isn’t enough for some shopaholics, who complained that prices were too high in comparison to Hong Kong.
Are you sure you’re calculating the travel costs that you’d incur by crossing the border, mate?
Others were remarkably more chipper, with one visitor who travelled a staggering four hours to the opening saying, “I don’t think I will go to Hong Kong anymore. […] [CTF HOKO mall] can spare me hours of waiting at the border crossing.”
Photos: WeChat
