August and September are usually busy months for clothing trader Michael Hui Wah-kit, whose international clients arrive in Hong Kong for fashion shows and trade events. Buyers from Australia and Europe come to him for the latest casual wear produced by his suppliers on the Chinese mainland and in Southeast Asia.
This year, two long-time clients decided not to come, put off by the ongoing
anti-government protests in Hong Kong. They told him they would just go online and choose what to buy. “It’s worrying because if they can do it over the internet, they can deal directly with the manufacturers and won’t need us any more,” said Hui, managing director of Freedom Industrial Corporation, founded in 1973.
This year, two long-time clients decided not to come, put off by the ongoing
anti-government protests in Hong Kong. They told him they would just go online and choose what to buy. “It’s worrying because if they can do it over the internet, they can deal directly with the manufacturers and won’t need us any more,” said Hui, managing director of Freedom Industrial Corporation, founded in 1973.
