Hong Kong restaurants operator Fairwood says recruitment difficulties are hindering expansion plans
- Currently, the biggest problem is not shops, but recruitment, chairman says
- Fairwood aims to open eight to 10 branches every year in Hong Kong
Hong Kong fast-food operator Fairwood Holdings’ expansion plans are being hindered by recruitment difficulties.
“Currently … it is hard to hire [people],” Dennis Lo, Fairwood’s executive chairman, said on the sidelines of Fairwood’s 50th anniversary briefing. “Now the biggest problem for opening branches is not the shops, but difficulties with recruitment.”
The company had 160 eateries in Hong Kong as of September 30, including 148 fast-food and 12 speciality restaurants. These include three ASAPs, five Taiwan Bowls, three The Leaf Kitchens and one Kenting Tea House. The firm also has 22 eateries in mainland China.
Fairwood aims to open eight to 10 branches every year in Hong Kong, Lo said. “Now we keep increasing the number of staff. [We are currently] short of several hundred people,” he added. “But we hope to overcome it and open more branches. Rents have fallen, but that does not offset the increase in salaries.”
