Mooncake Smugglers Sell First Part 3: Peninsula Hotel Mooncake

Peninsula Hotel denies selling mooncake in Sheung Shui, according to Sina News on 2014/08/07.

Media have found that Peninsula Hotel mini egg custard moon cake is selling at $240 in Sheung Shui, 24.5% cheaper than the Hotel’s retail price $318.

Peninsula Hotel insists that they have not authorized any other shops to sell their moon cakes except the Peninsula Boutique, Airport Peninsula Boutique, and three selected DFS shops. They also point out that the source of those moon cakes area is unknown, and it is difficult to identify whether they are genuine or counterfeit. They advise consumers to buy directly from the authorized sellers.

Wing Wah moon cake is also selling 14% cheaper than the retail price in Sheung Shui smuggling area. Even more interesting is that media have checked its authenticity by scanning the QR code on the box and found them all valid. Wing Wah only replied that if the customer is suspicious about the genuineness of the moon cake they have purchased, he can bring that to the company for further examination.

Source: 上水水貨區售平價半島月餅及榮華月餅 真假難辨

Mooncake Smugglers Sell First Part 1: First Report

Drugstores and smugglers’ shops in Sheung Shui are already selling mooncake! But bakery outlets of the mooncake manufacturers such as Wing Wah and Maxim do not yet have mooncake for sale. Oddly enough?

North District Parallel Imports Concern Group first wrote on their fb group that they have discovered Sheung Shui has mooncakes from Maxim and Peninsula Hotel.

Mingpao news followed up next day (the original article is no longer accessible but a pirate website has a backup.) They found that one drugstore sells “Maxim white lotus seed with double egg yolks mooncake” at HKD 175 each box, cheaper than the official discounted price which is HKD 205. Even more interesting is that the reporters have purchased 4 boxes of mooncakes, then check its authenticity by scanning the QR code on the box. All are valid.

Maxim replied to the newspaper that they have supplied to Wellcome, Mannings, 7-11 and duty-free shops at the border, but never to drugstores. Drugstores explained that they bought the stock from Maxim’s underwriters. The stocks areplanned to be sold to Southeast Asia or to China.

Inspired by the news article, North District Parallel Imports Concern Group made a trip to Shek Wu Hui:

1) At the train station, a woman moves two packs of mooncakes 14.8 kg each. Together her luggage is over the weight limit.

2) Mooncake everywhere. Almost everyone is carrying a bag of mooncakes.

Then the group travelled into the alley which has been trasnformed into a smugglers’ hideout… We will continue the adventure in Part 2.