Umbrella Vending
Vending machines aren't as important in Hong Kong as in other world cities simply because the Big Lychee has so many small shops that provide food and drink.
But in the past few months a new type of vending machine has popped up in several high-traffic MTR stations: it sells umbrellas. You might think that odd, but if there's one thing any Hong Konger will tell you, when it rains and you're caught without an umbrella, you will buy one, even if it's a cheap piece of garbage. Anything to keep you dry until you get home.
From all appearances, however, the machine's compact umbrellas look fairly solid, and come in a smart selection of colours. Not bad for HK$68 (about US$8.70). Just touch your Octopus card (Hong Kong's mass-transit stored-value payment system) to the scanner, pick a colour and boo-bam: umbrella in your hand.
Putting them in a vending machine is the height of convenience; consumers don't have to search for a shop. Even though 7-11 and Circle K sell umbrellas and often have stores right in the train station, the machine's choices are far more attractive and don't have an ugly logo. People will pay a little more for a better quality umbrella that doesn't turn them into walking billboards.
And unlike food or drinks, umbrellas don't go bad. Although they're not as likely to sell in winter when it's dry, plenty of folks use them as sun shades, especially the ladies who use skin-whitening products.
As cool ideas go, this one makes a lot of sense and will probably be quite successful.
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