Some Hong Kong SMEs are not rolling over and playing dead. Can they win in the end?
A restaurant chain opens more outlets, a hi-tech farm finds clients abroad – it’s not all bad news for SMEs
Dennis Lau Yat-hin, the third-generation owner of Hong Kong’s Wing Nin chain of cart noodle restaurants, was brimming with pride at his newest outlet in Jordan as he rattled off his big plans.
“We’ve prepared to invest more than HK$11 million [US$1.4 million] to open six more outlets this year, on top of the original four eateries,” he said.
“For the next three years, my goal is to open 30 outlets as the first step, though I think we can actually open 50 more.”
The chain’s new flagship restaurant opened in Jordan in June. A wooden cart stands against a giant mural showing the founders – his grandparents – selling cart noodles in Yuen Long in the 1960s.
Customers come for the signature noodles with their choice of toppings from a wide assortment including curried beef brisket, braised pig skin, cubed pig’s blood, fish balls, squid and much more.
Describing his ambitions for the family business he took over in 2009, Lau, 36, president of the Wing Nin Group, said Hong Kong’s sky-high rents deterred him from expanding sooner.
