The opening ceremony for the second Hong Kong Shopping Festival was held by the Hong Kong Retail Management Association on Thursday and will run from July 1 to August 31, with the theme “Enjoy Hong Kong Privileges, Courtesy.”.

There will be over 160 brands, along with 5,000 businesses, and 300 freebies and discounts, for a total market value of HK$12 billion.

Annie Tse Yau On-yee, chair of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, said during her speech today that the theme this year echoes what the government is pushing for and supporting Hong Kong to live up to its reputation as a hospitable city and an “Experiential Shopping Paradise”.

Tse pointed out that in the past year, the retail industry has faced various new challenges, and the business ecology of many industries has undergone great changes.

She believes that in the face of the new situation, they must be more flexible, gather strength from all walks of life, combine with government support, and enhance competitiveness through multi-party cooperation, so that they can win the favor of customers and overcome future obstacles.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his speech that this year’s Hong Kong Shopping Festival has a strong lineup, with more participating merchants and shops than last year, and all merchants will provide free gifts and coupons with no consumption threshold.

Coupled with high-quality products and services, he believes it will trigger more consumer demand.

Chan continued to point out that in recent years, the consumption patterns of citizens and tourists have changed, and the retail industry has faced many challenges, making it difficult to achieve volume growth by repeating the past model.

However, the good news is that the job market is still strong and consumer demand is still real, and he believes new demands can be created after adjusting its positioning and strategy.