British luxury fashion brand Burberry is closing its flagship store in Hong Kongb ecause of strict Covid restrictions customers have been unable or unwilling to come to the store for purchases. Canton Road in Hong Kong is considered a hub for luxury brands and is home to the Harbour City shopping mall. It was a bustling destination for tourists who visited the Mainland before the pandemic led to closures, quarantines and shutdowns across the nation and around its borders.

Iconic plaid-patterned retailer Burberry opened its Canton Road flagship in 2011. The closure leaves Burberry with ten stores across Hong Kong. Other brands like Valentino, Tiffany & Co and Coach have also shut stores because of a lack of tourists. Earlier this year, Hong Kong’s strict Covid-19 restrictions during the height of the spread of the omicron variant led to widespread retail and restaurant closures.

In January, during Men’s Fashion Week in France, Burberry’s higher quality business saw its full-price sales rise 26 per cent in the quarter versus comparable 2019 levels, while its total same-store sales slid three per cent as a result of its planned exit from markdowns at its stores and website.