US chain Garrett Popcorn announces departure from Hong Kong in 13 years amid wave of business closures
Hong Kong Free Press
American chain Garrett Popcorn has announced plans to close all five branches in Hong Kong, 13 years after it opened its first store in the city.
“Garrett Popcorn Shops will be cooking our last batches in Hong Kong this month. Thank you for the past 13 years of Garrett Popcorn Shops in Hong Kong,” the company said on Facebook on Tuesday night. “We’ve loved being part of your city and look forward to returning one day soon,” it added.
Founded in 1949, Garrett Popcorn is based in Chicago and has overseas branches in nine countries and territories. It currently has 10 stores in Singapore and four in Hong Kong.
The farewell post from Garrett Popcorn received thousands of reactions and hundreds of comments, with many saying it was “best popcorn in town”, and asking whether the chain could keep one store in the city open.
The announcement came amid wave of business closures, especially from the food and beverage sector over the past year.
Citing “external uncertainties” and various “operational challenges,” health product chain CR Care on Tuesday announced the closure of all 19 of its Hong Kong branches in October.
Separately, chain restaurant Kam Kee Cafe gradually closed all of its branches in the New Territories, leaving only outlets in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Local media reported that its Tseung Kwan O branch ceased operations in early October, with an auction notice posted outside of the eatery.
Rayman Chui, president of the Kam Kee group, told am730 in March, when the closure of seven New Territories branches was reported, that Hongkongers’ heading to mainland China during holidays and weak consumption of mainland Chinese tourists had affected business.
Sales dropped
Provisional retail sales for August decreased by 11.8 per cent compared with a year earlier, worse than the market expectation of 9 per cent.
The provisional estimate of the volume of total restaurant receipts decreased by 4.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2024 compared with a year earlier, according to the Census and Statistics Department.
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