Pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong have disrupted business and hit share prices of luxury goods companies, ruining what is normally one of the busiest shopping weeks of the year, according to a report on japantimes.co.jp on Oct. 4.

The protests in Hong Kong, the biggest challenge to Beijing’s leaders since the former British colony reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, coincide with China’s "Golden Week" holiday, which runs until Tuesday. It is traditionally as important to luxury retailers in the region as Christmas or New Year's are in Western markets.

Analysts believe retail sales have taken a substantial hit in one of the world’s key markets for luxury goods. Hong Kong accounts for about $9.7 billion of global luxury sales, or 4 percent of the worldwide total, according to estimates from Bernstein Research.

Travel agents said the number of Chinese tours to Hong Kong was down around 30 percent. The European financial services company Kepler Cheuvreux estimates 75 percent of local sales are driven by tourism from the mainland.

Estimates like that have weighed on shares of luxury goods makers such as Prada SpA, whose Hong Kong-listed shares fell as much as 4.6 percent on Friday to their lowest in more than two years. Kering, the owner of Gucci, is down nearly 6 percent from a week ago. Gucci relies on the city for a tenth of global sales.

Over the past week, Burberry has lost around 4 percent of its value. Richemont -- whose biggest market is Hong Kong -- has declined by 3.7 percent, while Prada has retreated 2.7 percent.

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