Bump in nostalgia sales, but 183-year Hong Kong umbrella shop set to fold for good
Yau Yiu-wai, 73, fifth-generation owner of Sun Nga Shing Umbrella Store, values craftsmanship and offers repairs, but says trade no longer viable
At a packed and tiny storefront in Hong Kong’s Sham Shui Po, Yau Yiu-wai busily explains the best way to open and shut umbrellas to an endless stream of interested buyers.
But the 73-year-old shop owner only received a bump in customers after announcing earlier this week that he would be closing down the 183-year-old family business – one of the city’s last remaining umbrella shops with repair services – by the end of this month.
As the fifth-generation owner of the Sun Nga Shing Umbrella Store, Yau said it was a painful decision for him to shut the business, which was established by his ancestors as early as 1842 in Guangzhou during the Qing dynasty.
“The foundation laid by the previous generation was handed down to me, but now it’s ending with me,” Yau told the Post on Saturday.
“I’m unhappy and ashamed, but my body just can’t take it any more. I need to rest.”
Many residents, including neighbours and regular patrons, flocked to the shop to say their goodbyes to Yau shortly after he posted the notice of the coming closure online.