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Bubble tea, hotpot vanish as mainland Chinese retailers bear the brunt of Hong Kong’s rent
- A tide of mainland Chinese brands expanding in Hong Kong has ebbed, with several food and beverage chains ending their tenancies amid intense pressure
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A tide of mainland Chinese retail brands expanding in Hong Kong appears to have ebbed, with several food and beverage chains ending their tenancies as their businesses have come under intense pressure. Newcomers need to think hard about the locations they select and how best to cater to local tastes to survive sky-high rents and fierce competition, analysts and industry insiders say.
LMM (Ling Meng Meng), a lemon tea brand, closed its first shop in Hong Kong last week, less than a year after opening it. The 300 sq ft shop in Mong Kok’s Dundas Street, had been costing LMM HK$70,000 (US$8,968) per month.
The original lease term was until April 2025, but the landlord has been trying to transfer the contract to new tenants since January with an asking price of around HK$50,000, market insiders said.
Just 100 meters away on the same street, Radish Southward, a mainland restaurant specialising in spicy Hunan food, had closed its doors a few days earlier, just four months after it entered the Hong Kong market. Covering some 1,745 sq ft, the restaurant was originally rented at about HK$250,000 a month under a three-year lease ending in December 2026.
The situation contrasts with the scenes outside the outlets just a few months ago, when people queued up to buy a cup of tea or try a taste of mainland food.
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Hong Kong’s traditional dai pai dong street-food stalls fight to stay open
Hong Kong’s traditional dai pai dong street-food stalls fight to stay open
Jo’s Cha in Causeway Bay is facing a similar decline in demand for its tea.
Yulu Ao joined SCMP in 2022 as a business reporter. She previously covered business trends across the Greater Bay Area with topics including financial market, healthcare, aviation, etc. She holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Hong Kong. Before moving to Hong Kong, she interned in different roles at several news agencies in mainland China.
Salina Li joined the Post in 2022. She has earned several awards including 2024 Hong Kong News Awards, State Street Institutional Press Awards and 9th Business Journalism Awards hosted by Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and sociology from the University of Hong Kong.
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