Monday, June 25, 2012

Hong Kong's Fashion Outlet Shops


Hong Kong's Fashion Outlets 

In the Tsim Sha Tsui Neighbourhood




Good deals for office ladies , outdoor adventure nuts and anyone looking for well-priced 'must-have' accessories





 At the 'China Hong Kong City' Ferry Terminal

This mall is in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui and close to both the Star Ferry and to most hotels in the area. It represents some of the best known good quality middle brands that populate our many shopping malls. Sinoland, the landlord claims that all the shops in this mall are required to offer discounts of between 30% to 60% off their normal price.


My favourite shops in the mall are Tie Rack, LaFuma, Samsonite, Lenscrafters, Esprit, G2000 and Mirabell. Check them all out below.

The building is well known by China travelers since it is also the terminal for ferries going to China on the Kowloon side.  It’s located next to the Ocean Terminal and Harbour City, the best known shopping malls in Tsim Sha Tsui.    A gold tinted glass building, it is referred to here as  “Chung Kong Sing” (中港城). At the entrance of the building, take the escalators up one level (UG level). 





For more shopping deals in Hong Kong and Shenzhen,
Look up Ellen's websites:
www.shopinshenzhen.com
www.shop-in-hongkong.com






Accessories Outlet Shops

My favourite and in my view, the best deals can be found in the shops that sell accessories.


Tie Rack

Opening Hours: 9am- 8pm
Tel 2180 8939



This is probably the city’s best soft accessory retailer for men and women. You’ll find hats, scarves, shawls, gloves, belts, ties, socks, costume jewelery for women and cuff-links for men. Discounts vary by product. Most of what I saw was discounted between 50% to 60%. A really good outlet.


Samsonite

Opening Hours: 8am to 10pm
Tel 2735 2812


This well known retailer insists that they are not an ‘outlet’. So let me describe them as a shop that is always on sale! It doesn’t matter to me. I like shops on sale no matter what you call them! All of this contemporary-style luggage on sale at this Samsonite shop is discounted by 30%. It doesn’t quite match the discounts of outlets inside the mall but it’s decent considering the more expensive price of luggage. The store front is on the street level and is next door to Esprit.


Lenscrafters

Opening Hours:10am to 8pm
Tel 2317 0680

Lenscrafters is one of Hong Kong’s largest eyeglass retailers . All eyeglass frames in this shop are discounted from 30% to 70% depending on how dated they are. The lenses themselves though are not discounted at all. Apart from the discounting of frames, the shop offers all of its usual services, including contact lenses, at full price.


Pens Museum

Opening hours: 9:30am-7:30pm
Tel 2151 0818




It’s not everyday that you need a pen but it’s great to find this retailer selling pens at more affordable prices. The big luxury brands like Mont Blanc are reduced by a miserly 10% but the shop sells many other attractive brands at 50% off. You’ll also find a great selection of unusual reasonably priced brands such as Hizz and Lamy.






Most Popular Outlet in the Mall


Esprit

Tel 2730 2073



This is by far the largest and best organized shop, although it isn’t located inside the mall. It has its own street-level entrance, to the left of the main mall entrance. With two floors full of inventory, this popular international retailer carries casual fashion for men, women and children and is regularly full of shoppers. Items are priced at 30% to 50% off their original price. If you purchase over HK$1000, you get a further 20% off. The shop carries everything from casual wear to accessories such as handbags, scarves, hats, shoes and outerwear. They have an excellent range of sizes. Pants range from 34 to 42 for women and from 28 to 36 for men. Tops are sized from small to double extra large. Children’s sizes range from 92/98 to 152/158. Lots of bright colors and a huge selection of jeans.


Executive and Office Ladies Fashion Outlets


Here are some of Hong Kong’s best known office wear retailers. Most carry Hong Kong sizing meaning that its largest size may be equivalent to about a size US6. If you’re in that size range, you’ll find great fashion and excellent discounts.

G2000

Tel: 2735 2364


This retailer specializes in basic executive wear for men and women with classic traditional styling – suits, shirts, blouses, skirts, pants and some accessories. Shirt sizes for men go up to 17”/35” with suit sizing from 44 to 54. Women’s sizes go up to size 40, with the occasional 42. While there is no standard discount, I am told that all the stock is sold at “special sale prices” which looked very good at the time of my visit.


Cour Carre

Opening Hours: 10am to 7:30pm
Tel 2311 1296



Another well known brand that sells to the executive crowd. Again, smart fashion, a little more sophisticated than G2000, more expensive and lots of black. Women’s sizes run from 40 to 44, men’s from 46 to 52. The focus is on suits, dresses and footwear. Discounts at this outlet run from 50% to 70%.







Initial

Opening Hours: 10:30am to 8pm
Tel 2377 0265



While this brand defines itself in the casual wear range, it has a lot of fashion for the office. It’s priced as a luxury brand, albeit not like the big international names, and has enough panache and unique styling to deserve the category. This outlet discounts its items at 80% which makes for some great bargains, if you are the right size.









Mademoiselle

Opening hours: 9:15 to 8:30pm
Tel: 2735 8833



An upscale and chic Hong Kong brand for women with sizes ranging from 36 to 42. Fashion covers executive wear, evening/dinner fashion and some casual wear. Lots of colours and trendy fashion. Original prices are not cheap – dresses run at about HK$3000 – but discounts are significant at 40% to 70%.





Wanko

Opening Hours: 9:30 to 8:30pm
Tel: 2730 2526

A retailer for office girls, this brand is well priced to begin with. This outlet offers a 15% discount on the first and second items and a 25% discount if you buy three. Apart from apparel, the shop also sells handbags and various accessories.



Casual Wear Outlets


Bossini

Tel: 2314 1019



Baleno

Tel 2109 3029


Bossini and Baleno are two of the city’s main and ubiquitous casual brands. They sell lots of t-shirts, polo shirts, jeans, chinos and casual jackets. At the best of times, they offer great value for the money. Now, their outlets make it all the sweeter. Their sizing is similar – small to double XLarge for men and women. Pants run from 25”to 30” for women and 27” to 36” for men. Prices are discounted with an additional discount when buying 2 or more items. Fashionwise, Bossini has better cuts and styling than Baleno.



Tough

10:30am to 8:30pm
Tel 2191 9033



From the same family as Bauhaus, Tough is a brand with a lot of punk character, as is described in its name. This outlet reflects its origins with lots of great bags and wallets for men and women, their own lines of hip jeans as well as a few international brands, tees and jackets, many of them in leather.  To give you an idea of sizing, jeans come in the following sizes: 28” -36” for men, 25”-29” for women. With about 70 shops to draw from in Hong Kong, they have a lot of stock which they discount at up to 80%.

Levis


This recently opened shop is an ‘outlet’ in name only with most of its stock selling at their original price.


Athletic Fashion and Footwear


Lafuma

Opening hours: 10:30 to 9pm
Tel 2109 1050


If you’re into hiking, skiing or climbing, this is a really good place to pick up appropriate clothes and accessories. Lafuma carries the whole range from backpacks, to jackets, boots, sleeping bags and much more. As well as jackets, they carry tops and pants ranging from small to 2XL for men and small to XL for women. Their hiking shoes range from sizes 36-40 for women, 39-46 for men and 32-39 for kids. Discounts run from 30%-80%.











Cotima

Tel 2736 2978

Here’s another outdoor athletic shop. While not having as complete a range as Lafuma, they carry lots of great products: jackets and backpacks for hiking and skiing, hiking shoes (unisex sizes 35-45), and loads of waterproof bags and various accessories. Their products are discounted by 70%.





Marathon Sports


With such a big HK retailer, one can’t help but have high expectations of this Marathon Sports outlet. Unfortunately, the discount is not a generous one (10% off Nike, Addidas and Crocs) and the footwear and apparel fashion is a bit dated.


Mirabell

Tel 2736 2130

A multi-brand footwear retailer that carries a range of comfortable shoe brands: Hush Puppies, Geox, Florsheim, Timberland, Merrell, CAT and Stonefly shoes. This outlet carries sizes 5-9 for women and 6-12 for men. Fashion dates from a few months to a few years back. Some very good deals. The shoes are discounted up to 50%.






Jewellery Brand Outlets



Agatha

Tel 3106 3966



This cute French brand is young and smart. The outlet offers discounts of 30% to 50% off their earrings, necklaces and rings. While charms are generally their biggest seller, they do not discount them at this outlet.







Folli Follie


Folli Follie has a small shop here with a small discout section. Mostly handbags, watches and costume jewellery.









MaBelle

This is a big local brand which specializes in 18K white gold with diamonds. Most of the stock here is displayed at their original price with only a very small section displaying items at 30% off.

Food for Thought


If you’re like me, you always need a little break in the middle of shopping. There’s a Pacific Coffee and a MDonald’s on the same floor as the outlet section, and a Starbuck’s on the 1st floor.