(From left) The inaugural Hong Kong Shopping Festival was officiated by AUSupreme International Holdings Limited founder, chairman and CEO Leslie Choy, Hong Kong Trade Development Council assistant executive director Stephen Liang, celebrity Kenneth Ma and Taikoo Sugar Limited general manager Melody Keung. HONG KONG – Hong Kong will in August hold its first shopping festival on online platforms like Taobao and Xiaohongshu to help its local businesses make inroads into mainland China. This comes as Chinese consumers have been increasingly tightening their belts amid an economic slowdown and snubbing their own mainland-organised online shopping campaigns.
The Hong Kong Shopping Festival, to be held from Aug 1 to 31, will promote the products of more than 230 Hong Kong brands through the major Chinese platforms, which also include JD.com, Pinduoduo and Douyin. Participating brands include big names like jeweller Chow Tai Fook, beauty retailer Sasa and sauce manufacturer Lee Kum Kee, as well as smaller enterprises such as pastry maker Kee Wah Bakery and health supplements firm Catalo.
The campaign seeks to help Hong Kong firms break into the vast mainland market and equip them to conduct their business there, according to festival organiser, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC). “Diverse online channels such as live-streaming, instant retail and social commerce have become the new normal for many mainland consumers,” HKTDC assistant executive director Stephen Lia.