Pricerite said 'last day' to push a sale — customers thought the chain was closing

Pricerite (實惠), a Hong Kong home and electronics retailer with 38 years of history, posted a cryptic green-on-white message reading 'Thank you for your support over the years' on its Facebook page on the night of October 14, 2024. Multiple stores simultaneously placed large red 'Last day — thank you neighbours for your support' posters on their shutter doors. Customers and media immediately assumed the chain was closing down.

The company had been shrinking for two years — from 25 stores in early 2022 to 14 by mid-2024 — and had cited 'the economic downturn and cross-border consumption' when closing its Kennedy Town and North Point branches two months earlier. Against that backdrop, a farewell message and last-day signs looked entirely believable.

By the next morning, October 15, Pricerite revealed the truth: the posters were a marketing stunt for a permanent price restructure called 'Breakthrough New Prices'. The 'last day' referred to old prices, not the stores. The campaign permanently cut prices on 7,500 products by an average of 23%, with some items reduced up to 56%. The company also extended a 180-day mattress trial.

The public reaction was overwhelmingly negative. Customers who had rushed to stores expecting closing-down sales felt deceived. Comments read 'Are you serious?', 'Explain clearly please', and 'Playing games? Be careful you don't burn yourself'. One netizen warned: 'If you keep playing this game, one day the fake closure will become a real one.' Pricerite had used similar tactics before — a 'last day' banner for its Anniversary Sale and the same 'Thank you' phrasing — but never with the entire chain posting simultaneously, which made this feel uniquely deceptive.