The shopping malls of the Chinese metropolis, engaged in an effort to take the greatest possible amount of money out of customers' pockets during Christmas (and around), have treasured the maxim according to which the more you spend, the more you earn. The shopping districts are all a succession of extraordinarily elaborate shop windows and the most important shopping centers compete in exhibiting one more amazing gimmick than the next.
The competition is "very fierce," says Karen Tam, assistant general manager for marketing at Harbor City, one of Hong Kong's major shopping malls located in the bustling urban area of Kowloon. The Harbor City spent HK$5 million (US$645.000) on window displays featuring characters from the Disney films 'Toy Story' and 'Lilo and Stitch' surrounded by giant Christmas decorations. “The budget for setting up the Christmas windows” Tam continues “is increasing every year, because here in Hong Kong, but also in mainland China, we take competition very seriously. We have to be more and more creative, we have to present something surprising to capture customers' attention”.
The International Finance Centre, for example, a large shopping center located in the financial district of the city, has reproduced the avenues of Central Park in New York, with grassy hills among which to stroll and parked bicycles that light up when someone gets on them and starts to pedal. The APM, however, has built an extravagant city, where giant soup cans are topped with colorful Christmas trees. The plans for the Christmas creations – as well as the related budgets – are protected as state secrets, since a war of espionage with no holds barred kicks off many months before the work begins.
“Every Christmas it's the same story” says Rebecca Woo, head of marketing of the K11 Art Mall, half mall and half art gallery, “everyone tries to find out in every possible way what the others are organizing”. K11, keeping faith with its artistic vocation, has created an installation in which huge polar bears made of steel tubes make a fine show of themselves, studded with multicolored lights and immersed in a continuous snowfall of white foam. “We wanted to offer our customers something unique,” comments Woo, adding that since the bears were installed, visitors have increased by 10%.
