As hordes head to Shenzhen, Hong Kong bars, restaurants sign up for more floor space

Hong Kong’s food and beverage (F&B) operators, both new and existing players, signed leases for 155,000 sq ft of new floor space in the second quarter of this year, a record high for the sector and more than double the amount registered in the first quarter, according to property consultancy CBRE.In the first half of the year, they snapped up 230,000 sq ft of new space, CBRE data showed.However, analysts said the city’s selective and narrow-based retailing recovery was forcing brands and retailers to be more creative and adopt novel tactics to keep attracting consumers, with that trend particularly evident in the F&B sector.