A highly sought-after dry goods stall at the Victoria Park Lunar New Year Fair was sold for HK$51,000 — surpassing last year’s record of HK$41,000 — as public bidding continued on Tuesday.
The auction for 138 dry goods stalls saw 59 contested by the morning, drawing more than 100 participants to the venue before proceedings officially began.
Regular and large dry goods stalls measure 4.5 and 9 square metres respectively — the former at three metres wide by 1.5 metres deep, and the latter at 4.5 by two metres. Starting prices remain unchanged from last year at HK$8,540 and HK$12,810.
Stall 1, located near the park entrance, attracted significant attention, opening at HK$12,810 and closing after 37 bids. The winning bidder, Lai, said this year’s atmosphere was more competitive than in previous years, with participants placing higher bids.
Lai, who had budgeted up to HK$80,000 per stall, successfully secured Stalls 1 and 12 for HK$51,000 and HK$16,100 respectively. He said his family has operated at Stall 1 for several years, with his aunt winning it last year for HK$23,800. They plan to continue promoting their traditional put chai ko (red bean pudding) business and preserving nostalgic snack culture.
He added that the renewed vibrancy of Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year markets, following the full resumption of cross-border travel in 2023, had intensified competition this year.
However, he noted that local consumption has been affected by the trend of Hongkongers shopping on the mainland, resulting in sluggish sales. To attract customers, Lai plans to introduce new products such as pistachio-flavoured candy and coconut wraps while lowering prices during the festive season.
Last year, the top bid for a large dry goods stall was HK$41,000 for Stall 30, while the highest for a regular stall was HK$30,000 for Stall 109 near Causeway Bay MTR Station.
Meanwhile, another bidder, Chan, secured Stalls 2 and 7 for HK$26,000 and HK$36,000 respectively, and plans to sell festive decorations.
Chan said his company has joined the fair for over a decade and that this year’s bidding prices were 20 to 30 percent higher than last year’s, compounded by rising expenses such as electricity costs.
Despite this, he believes local spending power is weakening, so decoration prices will remain stable. He intends to offer discounts to attract shoppers, hoping that more Hongkongers will celebrate the Lunar New Year at home.
On the more competitive bidding this year, Chan said that although market conditions remain moderate, Victoria Park’s strong visitor flow has encouraged vendors to capitalise on the opportunity to maximise profits.
Separately, Yu, head of the Business, Accounting and Financial Studies (BAFS) program at Henrietta Secondary School, led about 20 students to take part in the auction. The team successfully bid for Stalls 40 and 41 at HK$17,100 each to sell plant-based wooden decorations under the brand “Greenmunity,” featuring poetry designed by literature students.
Yu said this was the school’s third time joining the fair, with this year’s theme focusing on green living. He hoped students would gain hands-on business experience while contributing positively to the community.
Last year, the school earned a profit of around HK$10,000 — all of which was donated. With returning students now more experienced in inventory management, Yu said they are targeting profits of HK$20,000 to HK$30,000 this year.
