Here's one of the biggest threats to Hong Kong's retail sector

So much depends on Chinese market.

According to Colliers International, while Hong Kong’s retail market enjoys the benefits generated by the consumption of the sustained growing number of mainland Chinese visitors, Joanne Lee, Manager of Research & Advisory at Colliers International (Hong Kong) points that the strong dependency on mainland Chinese visitors underlies a potential risk in the local retail market if their shopping style changes.

Here's more from Colliers:

For example, some more-affluent mainland Chinese tourists favour traveling to western countries for the latest and limited edition of international brands’ products to occasional shopping trips to Hong Kong.

Besides, the fast growing e-commerce market in mainland China threatens the traditional shopping demand in brickand-mortar stores. 

In the retail property leasing market, the demand by international retailers sustained in Hong Kong during 2Q 2013 with their plans to expand their presence in the city, albeit in a more cautious way. 

This has kept retail rents in an upward trend.

According to Colliers International’s Hong Kong Retail Market Research & Forecast Report, the average retail rent for ground-level shops in the four key shopping districts, including Central, Causeway Bay, Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui, edged up slightly by 1.0% QoQ in 2Q 2013.