Louis Vuitton is the first luxury brand to close a store in protested Hong Kong. South China Morning Post reports this based on sources.

Louis Vuitton, part of the LVMH fashion and beverage group, would like to close the store in the Times Square shopping center. LVMH would first have attempted to negotiate a discount on the rent. When the owner Wharf REIC did not participate, the French concern decided to close the store.

Hong Kong has been in the grip of protests against the excessive influence of the central government in China for seven months. Louis Vuitton has eight stores in Hong Kong, one of which is not very far from Times Square Mall. Earlier it was said that the maker of the iconic leather goods would open a ninth store in 2021, at Hong Kong airport.

Mainly Chinese people from the mainland found their way to the Louis Vuitton store in Hong Kong, because prices are lower there. The former British crown colony has the status of free trade zone. Since the protests, the number of visitors to the city has decreased, and certainly that of Chinese visitors. In November last year, the number of visitors to Hong Kong from mainland China had fallen by 56 percent. Sales also fall by tens of percent.