Eslite Bookstore (誠品) opened its first overseas outlet in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay area on Saturday.
“Hong Kong is like a second home to me and I hope the new shop can help Hong Kongers show their friendly natures to each other,” Eslite founder Robert Wu (吳清友) said at the bookshop’s opening ceremony.
The new shop occupies floors 8 to 10 of The Hysan Place department store.
It will open for 24 hours every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but keep regular business hours on the other days of the week.
It is the first bookstore in Hong Kong to operate through the night.
It is hoped that the Eslite Bookstore will become a highlight of Hysan Place and a new landmark in Hong Kong, said Irene Lee (利薀蓮), executive chairperson of the Hysan Development Co (希慎集團) board.
The shop attracted a large crowd on its opening day, with one shopper commenting that the shop is very comfortable and unlike any other bookstore in Hong Kong.
Another young shopper made similar remarks, but said: “The books seem a bit expensive.”
Causeway Bay is dubbed “Little Japan” because of the amount of Japanese merchandise on sale in the area, as well as shopping centers like Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Store and Sogo Department Store that operated there in the past.
The district also used to be home to large numbers of Japanese expats, especially when Hong Kong was under British colonial rule.
However, Taiwanese and Hong Kong companies have started to move into the traditional Japanese enclave in recent years.
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