Cathay to open more retail stores in city

Staff reporter

Cathay is considering opening more retail shops selling exclusive branded products in the city as it celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Asia Miles frequent-flyer program.

The stores would be set up in busy neighborhoods with high foot traffic.

Cathay also plans to roll out a new feature called Card-linked Earn later this year which will allow members to link any Visa/Mastercard credit card to their Cathay account to shop at designated merchants to earn miles, said Paul Smitton, Cathay's director of customer lifestyle.

Cathay recorded 11 million members around the world as of June this year, with 2.5 million in Hong Kong and the mainland, respectively, according to Smitton.

He said the group's lifestyle offering has been expanded to payment, dining, shopping, holidays and wellness, and currently works with over 800 partners globally.

Regarding plans to increase the number of Cathay shops in Hong Kong, Smitton said he is actively looking for locations with high foot traffic.

Cathay opened the first retail-concept store in the Cityplaza shopping mall in Taikoo Shing in late 2022.

In other retail news, Chinachem expects the sales in its shopping malls to grow 15 percent in the second half of this year from the first six-month period, as the developer feels the limited impact of the northbound travel wave on its properties.

Chinachem said the occupancy rate at its Lucky Plaza in Sha Tin was over 80 percent after the group invested over HK$500 million for its refurbishment.

Meanwhile, New World Development's (0017) K11 Musea mall saw a 30 percent rise in footfall and 60 percent in tourist membership sales during the opening weekend of the "100% Doraemon & Friends" exhibition.