Chickeeduck Owner Defiant Despite Closure Next Year

Chickeeduck owner Chow say stores will close end of 2022

It was only a matter of time before pro-democracy clothing store Chickeeduck would be forced to close and a few days ago the owner announced it would do so by the end of next year, citing "harassment by the evil force".

Businessman Herbert Chow Siu-lung, founder and CEO of Chickeeduck, said he and his shops had been targeted by smear campaigns and subjected to pressure from the authorities since he lent his high-profile support to the anti-government protesters in 2019.

The stores sell pro-democracy clothing

"The situation now is such that if you do not speak up in support of the government, you will be regarded as an enemy of the state," he said last Thursday, when he revealed he will close local Chickeeduck operations.

He said his suppliers on the mainland and overseas had received warnings not to do business with his company.

"If we cannot guarantee a stable supply of products, our business model cannot be sustained. And our decision is to exit the Hong Kong market in the second half of 2022," he said.

But he was quick to add he was not shutting down the Chickeeduck brand entirely.

"I am not leaving Hong Kong and I have no plan to emigrate overseas either. I may start other businesses in the future under the trademark of Chickeeduck," he added.

Chow said perhaps he would get into the early childhood business and set up a "Chickeeduck nursery", or expand the clothing business overseas.

A Chickeeduck store with graffiti artwork

He said his brand's exit from Hong Kong should not be seen as a failure of the "yellow economic circle", referring to the campaign for pro-democracy people to spend money in businesses that supported the 2019 anti-government protests.

"Hong Kong people's support for the yellow economic circle has been strong," he said. "You can see long queues outside some yellow restaurants. They have no problem with their business. Chickeeduck is an exceptional case because we cannot sustain ourselves if we cannot keep a steady supply of products from our suppliers."

A close friend of Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Chow said he has experienced difficulty in renting shop spaces and many landlords have declined to renew his leases. At its peak Chickeeduck had around 20 outlets across Hong Kong, but he says only five remain.

"Although Chickeeduck has experienced disturbance from the evil forces in the past 18 months, we have never given up on voicing out against injustice and will never consider backing off."

Chow is a good friend of Benny Tai (centre)

Chow was also defiant, saying he was not afraid of the national security law. "I do not think selling clothes is against national security."

Last year he displayed a protest statue in his store in D-Park shopping centre in Tsuen Wan, and the mall operator ordered Chow to remove it.

He did eventually, citing "political suppression", and added when his lease was up he would have to vacate the premises.

Chow made headlines again in May when national security police searched his Chickeeduck store in Tsuen Wan. Officers were responding to a complaint about an alleged breach of the national security law by displaying graffiti-style writing over the store's entrance reading, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times".

While the slogan was popular with protesters in 2019, a court ruled this year that the use of the term could incite others to commit secession, an offence under the security law.

Consumption Vouchers Barely Make Dent in Sales

Consumption vouchers aren't benefiting small businesses

The HK$5,000 e-vouchers are supposed to inject a whopping HK$30 billion into Hong Kong's economy and aimed at benefiting small retailers, but some report only a small uptick in business.

In Kennedy Town, a small fashion boutique owner reported no difference in revenue, even though she signed up to use Octopus cards in her shop, as installation and transaction fees would be waived for the first six months. She plans to return the card terminal when the period waived is up.

People buy expensive items without voucher

"About 10 percent of my clients started using electronic payment methods, but revenue didn't actually increase," she said.

Another shop selling imported frozen food also in Kennedy Town saw a slight increase in sales when the e-vouchers first came out in August that later died down, and no increase in the second installment. 

"I didn't see them spend more than usual or buy more expensive things because of the consumption vouchers," Jimmy Tsoi said. "Younger people may save up [the installments] to buy something more expensive at once. It would feel better than using it to buy small items, or something for daily use."

But according to the Census and Statistics Department, overall sales jumped 11.9 percent in August compared to the same time last year. However August 2020 was before Hong Kong had vaccines and there were strict social-distancing measures in place at the time, thus sales were low then too, points out Annie Tse, chairperson of the Hong Kong Retail Management Association.

Sales in footwear saw a big increase year-on-year

Retailers selling footwear and clothing saw the biggest rebound compared to other types of businesses, recording a 62.3 percent year-on-year increase in August, while optical shops saw a 60.4 percent rise compared to the same period last year according to government statistics.

Nevertheless, restaurants in general are doing a healthy trade, though it doesn't have much to do with consumption vouchers, as it is the high-end restaurants that are busy these days with wealthy customers splashing out on fine dining meals that they would have spent on trips.

So while the Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po intended the e-vouchers to help small businesses, his elaborate and grand plan barely made a dent.

25% Hongkongers Can't Afford Basic Needs

One-quarter of Hongkongers are considered deprived of basic necessities

The Hong Kong government acknowledges there are poor people in Hong Kong, but it's the number that it can't seem to decide on because it can't determine the exact definition of poverty.

It prefers to just look at income levels, but critics say this is not enough, as some people may own flats, but have no income and have run out of savings, or they barely make enough to make ends meet and live in squalid conditions. Some don't want to bother reaching out for social services or they don't qualify for certain subsidies.

Chinese University researchers have come up with another way to determine if someone is poor by seeing if they can afford 23 essential items or services. These include three meals a day, a dental check-up once a year, afford new clothes or go out with family or friends once a month.

Researchers say poverty should be calculated by deprivation

If they were not able to afford at least two or more of these items they were considered deprived.

They interviewed 1,476 people in 2014 and the same participants again last year. They found that one in four of them were deprived last year, 24.7 percent, which compares to 28.8 percent in 2014.

Researchers say the city's economic growth, historically low unemployment ration and higher salaries attributed to fewer deprived people, but it doesn't mean poverty has been eliminated at all.

Of those who took part in the study, 26.7 percent were unable to afford to get a regular dental check-up, though it was down from 38.7 percent three years earlier.

The study also showed that those who were defined as deprived were 1.5 times more likely to be less physically healthy, and 1.3 times more likely to be less mentally healthy compared to those who could afford all 23 items and services.

Chinese University associate professor Wong Hung who conducted the study said the research showed the government's official definition of poverty underestimated those who were socially disadvantaged in Hong Kong.

Handouts don't solve the poverty issue, researchers say

The government makes its calculations based solely on income and household size, and so the poverty line is at half the median monthly household income according to household size. Those who live below the poverty line are considered poor.

With that calculation, one in five people were living below the poverty line last year, a record high.

Wong said, "Handing out money or cash vouchers to people might not necessarily solve the city's deprivation problem. The government should implement more specific community programs so people can directly benefit from them."

This is not a new suggestion and the government doesn't really do anything, instead depending on NGOs and charities to fill the need.

Wong and his colleagues are suggesting to the government that it include deprivation as part of its determination of who is in poverty or not. It would probably increase the numbers which the authorities wouldn't be happy about, but these people are in desperate need of services and resources to keep their heads above water.

With Hong Kong being such a wealthy city, there is no excuse not to help the neediest.

Checking out Wudaoying Hutong

Cars sometimes pass through here, but mostly it's pedestrians

A friend who lives in Beijing recommended that I check out Wudaoying hutong near Yonghegong Lama Temple, as it hasn't been commercialized like Nanluoguxiang hutong.

I remember when Nanluoguxiang was just starting to have shops and it had rough edges to it that gave it some charm.

Does this cat look like he could be Brother Cream's cousin?

But now it's very gentrified, and as my friend says, there are the independent shops there, but there are also ones run by the government that you can tell are trying to push Chinese arts and culture in a Friendship Store 2.0 kind of way.

Having been there twice on my trip, I can attest to that!

So I checked out Wudaoying and I remember I did go there once many years ago to a western restaurant called Vineyard Cafe and it's still there. On the whole Wudaoying is still a residential area with shops down the main strip.

Some are clothing shops selling qipao or Chinese shirts and jackets, some with embroidery, jewellery shops, there are snack shops, mostly cafes, and several pottery shops that have several throwing wheels, where people take classes.

A not very happy looking mud grass horse at Plastered 8!

One of the pottery workshops had a giant fat cat with a bowtie, lazying on the table by the entrance and he could be Brother Cream's Beijing cousin!

A shop called Plastered 8 that opened in Nanluoguxiang also has a store here, and it has pretty funky T-shirts. The store front here includes a sculpture of a caonima, or "grass mud horse", which sounds like a swear word, but it is like giving the finger to internet censorship in China. I think we all feel like that!

On a happier note, we also saw a couple taking wedding photos there, probably the equivalent of Hong Kong couples taking pictures with the tram going by.

A sign indicating the entrance but we started from the back

On the whole it was fun to poke our heads into some of the shops and seeing what was going on. Some of the prices were expensive, some were OK. Although we didn't buy anything, we enjoyed soaking up the laid back atmosphere with a dose of crafts.

Time to Give Up Materialistic Culture

Lots and lots of clothes that are bought and thrown out every year

According to a survey by environmental group Greenpeace, Hong Kong residents spend about HK$10,000 (US$1,290) a year on clothing.

This means the average person spends about HK$800 a month on clothes, and if every person in Hong Kong spent around the same amount, that would add up to HK$25 billion a year on new threads.

Hong Kong people spend twice as much on clothes compared to their Taiwanese counterparts, according to the survey of 2,000 people, half from Taiwan, the other half from Hong Kong.

Chinese New Year means new clothes to wear

Usually the third to last day of the lunar new year, or in this case January 25, is supposed to be for spring cleaning, making it a good time to take de-clutter. However, it is also the new year custom to buy new clothes, typically red ones to wear in the first few days of the Lunar New Year.

The survey also found 40 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed in Hong Kong could only resist the urge to shop less than a week, whereas for Taiwanese it was 22 percent.

Bonnie Tang Man-lam of Greenpeace said this was due to Hong Kong's focus on consumer culture, with people unable to resist two-for-one sales tactics or free shipping. She added friends and social media also influenced people to buy on impulse.

Some 60 percent of those surveyed admitted the satisfaction of shopping only lasted a day, creating a cycle to need to fill a void.

But perhaps it's time to de-clutter instead?

Another fact that came to our attention is that Hong Kong has 885 mini storage facilities. Imagine how many lockers that would be, and surely a number of them filled with personal items like clothes.

Folks -- it's time to be ruthless and really start paring down our closets and getting rid of what we don't need and giving them to the less fortunate who would appreciate extra clothing, or other items.

Maybe it's time for Hong Kong to stop its obsession with materialism and perhaps focus on the community? We'd all be better for it in so many ways.

Fact of the Day: Hong Kong Loves Clothes

Hong Kong people love to buy clothes, so many they don't wear them all

Greenpeace has found Hong Kong people spend HK$3.9 billion on clothes they never wear, or only once or twice.

The environmental advocacy group interviewed 2,000 people in Hong Kong and Taiwan on their spending habits.

On average Hong Kong people own 94 pieces of clothing, Taiwanese 74.

Many shoppers tend to purchase clothes at fast fashion shops

Of the 94 items, 15 of them, or 16 percent were either never worn or only once or twice.

The group then calculated that if each garment cost HK$100, the value of the underused clothing totaled HK$3.9 billion.

In addition, the survey found more than half the respondents in Hong Kong never thought of buying from second-hand shops, 64 percent of them not wanting to wear old clothes.

Many also didn't know about ecologically friendly products, such as clothes that are animal-friendly, handmade or produced following fair trade principles, nor did they know where to buy such items.

Another frightening statistic is how many clothes are thrown out each year -- 100,000 tonnes annually over the past decade. That amounts to the rate of 1,400 T-shirts per minute.

A 16-foot tall mountain of clothes equal to 7.5 tonnes

Meanwhile on Facebook there's an AJ+ video going around about a Japanese man in Tokyo who only had three shirts, four pants and four pairs of socks. We aren't told how many underwear he has...

He only has 150 items and is happy to keep it that way.

While some minimalists say they feel content having less, others say having less stuff reduces the chance of injury during earthquakes. 

I'm just trying to de-clutter! I don't think I'll ever get to whittle the number of my possessions down to 150, just less stuff would be a good goal...