Year of the Dog

[Guest guest]

South China Morning Post

http://hongkong.scmp.com/hknews/ZZZC26TJRGE.html

 

Saturday, January 28, 2006

 

Sales of dogs lead spending boom

by VIVIENNE CHOW

 

Businesses are expecting a booming start to the Year of the Dog - and

not just pet shops.

 

Overall, retail sales are expected to be up 4 or 5 per cent over the

holiday period, the industry says.

 

As might be expected, pet shops are leading the charge with surging

sales of dogs, costing as much as $20,000. (HK$7.8 = US$1.0]

 

Chan Chin-tak, of Top One pet store, expected a 10 to 20 per cent

growth in business, with more people buying dogs in the coming year,

despite a rise of at least 20 per cent in prices.

 

Vela Lai, of Pom Pet Care, also believed more people would choose

dogs as pets.

 

She said the most popular dog at present was the toy poodle, which

reminded people of teddy bears and cost between $10,000 and $20,000,

depending on the colour.

 

Retail Management Association chairman Bankee Kwan Pak-hoo said shops

would experience overall growth of 4 to 5 per cent growth during

Lunar New Year as consumer confidence returned.

 

He said one regular customer of Sieyu at New Town Plaza splashed out

$700,000 on 3,000 bottles of liquor, more than twice as much as he

spent last year.

 

Mr Kwan expected a particularly prosperous time for the food and

beverages sector. " There should be a double-digit increase as people

are more willing to spend on family gatherings. "

 

Richard Poon Kuen-fai, chairman of the Association for Hong Kong

Catering Services Management, said restaurant bookings had been

strong.

 

" Most of the restaurants are fully booked until February. Prices have

increased from last year's around $2,500, to anything between $2,800

and $3,200 this year, " Mr Poon said.

 

" But most of the business concentrates on festival banquets. Non-

festive months between May and July are worrying. "

 

Mr Poon, also managing director of On Kee Dry Seafood, said the

average spending on such products had doubled to up to $3,000,

despite rising prices.

 

Spending on dried scallops and abalone was up 15 per cent, although

spending on bird's nests had fallen 20 to 30 per cent.

 

Long queues were seen yesterday at shops selling traditional Lunar

New Year cakes, but a seller at Wah Lai Yuen said the number of cakes

sold was more or less the same as last year.

 

Overall spending on overseas travel had risen 10 per cent, said

Travel Industry Council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung.

 

" People have chosen more long-haul trips rather than short trips like

the mainland. New attractions ... Africa and South America, are doing

very well. "

 

 

Hong Tai Travel general manager Susanna Lau said the number of

customers had increased by 15 per cent.

 

" Ski resorts in Korea and Japan are highly popular. A trip to

Hokkaido costs at least $10,000 per person, but they were filled up

very quickly. Thailand has totally recovered from the tsunami, " she

said.

 

Hong Kong International Airport saw a record-breaking 870 plane

arrivals and departures yesterday, a 12 per cent increase over non-

festive days. The Immigration Department estimated the number of

individual arrivals and departures over the seasonal break would

reach 6.5 million, a 9 per cent increase on last year.

 

Mr Kwan said 70 to 80 per cent of shops would stay open over the

holidays.