Nike closes flagship Central store

Sportswear chain Nike has withdrawn from renting its giant duplex shop in Central.

The 6,000-square-foot shop is on the ground floor and the first floor of Nexxus Building at 41 Connaught Road Central.

The rent was HK$900,000 a month.

The owner of the shop has now leased the giant store for HK$500,000 a month - a 40 percent discount, The Standard's sister paper Sing Tao Daily reported.

Nike first occupied the shop in 2014. The monthly rent then was at its peak - HK$1.6 million a month.

Well-known brands have left their premises in major streets recently. There are now 10 empty shops in Queen's Road Central, a rare sight.

The vacancy rate in the core area is severe. The vacancy rate in Central was 20.39 percent last month, data from Centaline Commercial showed. The rate in January was only about 8.05 percent. A ground-floor shop of 3,800 square feet in a Grade A commercial building in Central was rented to American Skechers as a bulk yard earlier, without any decoration.

Fashion brand Esprit gave up renting a duplex shop in Wing's Building at 110-116 Queen's Road Central in April.

The 17,941-square-foot shop was leased for HK$1.8 million a month two weeks ago. Esprit rented the giant shop for HK$2.7 million a month at its highest. The owner slashed 30 percent off that.

Korean brand MCM also withdrew from Entertainment Building in Central. French sportswear Decathlon rented it then.

A shop in Asia Standard Tower is now a flagship of Topshop, but Topshop will not extend the lease.

It will leave in October when that ends.