Celebrity Businesses Face Trouble with Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak
The new coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has already infected 40,000 and killed nearly 1,000 people worldwide. With 36 confirmed cases in Hong Kong and one death, the Hong Kong public are in a panic. Face masks, and basic necessities, have been sold out everywhere.
With less and less people being in the streets, many businesses are facing threats of closure. Among them is Hins Cheung’s (張敬軒) Junon Restaurant, which announced on Instagram that it will temporarily close from February 10th onward. Hins was reached out for clarification; his manager Mani Fok (霍汶希) responded, “No further comments at the moment.”
Despite being temporarily closed, Junon restaurant is still accepting table reservations for future dates.
Grace Lam’s (林雅詩) apparel chain is also being affected. A staff member said all 27 stores are facing a closing crisis, which will put nearly 100 workers unemployed. Grace Lam was seen at the Eastern District store recently, but despite the store-wide discounts, there were rarely any shopeprs.
“I’m not in a place to make any comments,” said Grace. “I’m kist a small investor. My friend is the big investor. I will respect whatever decision they make about the store’s fate. I’ll update everyone after I follow up.”
Nonetheless, Grace did admit that the outbreak has greatly affected the business volume. “Rent each month is at least five to six figures, but we’re not getting that. I’ll be very sad if the business has to shut down! I’ve been back here working every single day to help out, and sometimes you’ll come across rude shoppers too. It’s not easy.”
It’s been only six months since Grace started investing on the store, and she has already lost close to seven figures. “It’s tough. I don’t want our workers out of a job, but it’s really hard to continue. I’ll have to discuss with my business partner about the next steps.”
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Between the political protests and now the coronavirus, HK businesses took a strong beating. I think many small businesses will close cause they can’t take the lost like big corporates.